COEUR d'ALENE - The Kroc Center will be filled with music this week.

The Panhandle Symphony Orchestra will present its free fall concert at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Northwest Sacred Music Chorale will present the West Coast premier of "Concert Mass" by Joseph Fitzmartin at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

The Panhandle Symphony, under the direction of Tim Sandford, consists of volunteer musicians and will perform a variety of music.

The concert will be topped off with a pre-holiday surprise to get attendees in the spirit for the upcoming season.

The Jeanne Holmberg Memorial Charitable Trust is sponsoring the concert. Donations will be accepted at the door.

The Northwest Sacred Music Chorale is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Cynthia Marlette, founder of the group, will be the guest conductor.

"This is my first time to conduct the chorale since stepping down in 2003 due to stage 3 breast cancer," Marlette said.

The 80-voice chorale, the largest the group has ever been, will be accompanied by a 26-piece orchestra.

"It is hard to convey the thrill of standing before (the chorale and orchestra)," she said. "A choir is a conductor's instrument, and what a beautiful instrument it is. The Mass is brimming with dynamic energy augmented by plentiful brass and percussion."

Marlette said Fitzmartin, the composer from Philadelphia, is expected to be at the concert.

"It has never been performed in this country outside of Carnegie Hall," she said, adding that it also has been performed in Australia, Berlin and Russia.

All of the music is handwritten and in Latin, making it a challenge for the group. There will be a translation of the Latin on a screen as it is sung.

Leon Patillo, former lead singer with Santana, will make a guest appearance. Patillo will be in town for two other concerts. Tom Rutley, bass instructor at North Idaho College and also a former member of Santana at a different time than Patillo, will perform with Patillo.

The chorale will also perform an original piece written by Joshua Haberman, Marlette's son, a graduate from Lake City High in 2000 and from the American Boychoir School in Princeton, N.J. Haberman is a software engineer for Google in Seattle.

The group will also perform a piece written by chorale member and composer Jane Orto.

The concert will be underwritten by Charlie and Susan Nipp.

Cost is $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Tickets are available in Coeur d'Alene at First Presbyterian Church, 521 E. Lakeside, Great Harvest Bread Company, 2106 N. Government Way, and Northwest Academy of Music, 4055 N. Government Way. They can also be purchased online.

For more information on the groups or concerts, visit www.PanhandleSymphonyOrchestra.org or www.nwsmc.org.