On the occasion of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra's 70th anniversary (!), what's the appropriate gift? Well, tradition dictates that a celebration of seven decades calls for something platinum. How about, in this case, though, you consider purchasing season tickets to the ECSO's incredibly promising and cleverly conceptualized 2016-17 season?

The series kicks off Saturday in the Garde Arts Center, and music director/conductor Toshiyuki Shimada has structured a typically wonderful program of old and new works called "1001 Nights." Featuring Russian pianist Boris Berman as guest artist, the symphony will nuance Lyapunov's arrangement of Balakirev's Islamey, Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

For a full preview of the ESCO season, see the Daybreak section of Friday's edition of The Day.

Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, 8 p.m. Saturday, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; $36-$56, $16 for military; (860) 443-2876.

Editor's note: This version corrects a reference to the ECSO's decades of existence and the spelling of Russian pianist Boris Berman's name.