St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, 3 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand Boulevard. $8 to $14 in advance; $10 to $18 day of concert. 314-534-1700 or www.slso.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s resident conductor, Ward Stare, helped to save the day at Carnegie Hall last month when bad weather prevented composer/chansonnier H.K. Gruber from joining the orchestra: music director David Robertson performed Gruber’s part — and Stare pulled off the equally difficult role of conductor with style and confidence.

You can catch him in his role as music director of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra this weekend, in a popular program: the Overture to Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” Elgar’s Cello Concerto (with James Perretta, winner of this year’s Youth Orchestra Concerto competition, as soloist) and Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Symphony No. 5 in E minor. The Youth Orchestra is more than a training ground; it’s a cultural asset in itself, offering solid performances at incredible prices. This is their last concert this season.