THURSDAY OCTOBER 26

ERIC RYNES
Does any other violinist in town devour so much terrifyingly difficult music for violin? Nope. This superb musician plays solo works by Boulez, Lachenmann, Maderna, Scelsi, and Xenakis as well as Sift for violin and computer-realized sound by Chicago composer Kotoka Suzuki. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 8 pm, $5—$15 sliding scale donation.

TATSUYA NAKATANI
Nakatani is one of those rare percussionists who somehow transmutes frantic rummaging with rods, sticks, bows, and, of course, drums, into high-velocity free improvisation. He collaborates with a trio of Butoh dancers in tandem with violinist Tom Swafford and another instrument saboteur, guitarist Bill Horist. CoCA, 410 Dexter Ave N, 728-1980, 8 pm.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 27

CAROLYN GRAYE
This installment of Pony Boy Records' weekly "Jazz & Sushi" series sports one the rarest, and most intimate combinations in jazz, the drummerless trio. Singer Carolyn Graye teams up with guitarist Christopher Woitach and Buddy Catlett, a bassist who has gigged with just about everybody, most notably Count Basie and Frank Sinatra. Hiroshi's Restaurant, 2501 Eastlake Ave E, 726-4966, 7:30—10 pm, free.

SEATTLE SYMPHONY
David Daniels's full, plangent countertenor gives me goosebumps. In his Symphony debut, he sings Vivaldi's Stabat Mater and a clutch of Handel, including "Va, Tacito e nascosta" from Giulio Cesare, "Fammi combattere" from Orlando, and "Pompe vane di morte...Dove Sei" from Rodelinda. Two suites bookend the program: Purcell's Suite from King Arthur and Telemann's Don Quichotte. Also Sat Oct 28 at 8 pm. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747, 8 pm, $15—$64.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 28

MONC AUDITIONS
Decades before the advent of American Idol, New York's Metropolitan Opera began holding annual auditions to flush out promising singers from the hinterlands. These district auditions for MONC (Metropolitan Opera National Council) serve as a steppingstone to next year's "regionals" where singers vie for a top prize of $10,000. Recital Hall at Benaroya, 200 University St, 215-4747, 10 am, $10.

RENAISSANCE SINGERS
Led by Tudor Choir countertenor Markdavin Obenza, this quintet sings the Lamentations of English composer Robert White (1538—1574) along with music by Byrd, Tallis, Sheppard, and Pärt. St. Ignatius Chapel, Seattle University Campus, 296-5587, 7:30 pm, $15 suggested donation.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 29

SEATTLE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Newly appointed conductor Stephen Rodgers Radcliffe helms the band in Wagner's prelude to Die Meistersinger and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite (the 1919 version). The SYSO usually adds one infrequently heard item to the usual menu of warhorses. This time, it's the fearsome Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, which Samuel Barber culled from his 1947 ballet Cave of the Heart. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 362-2300, 3 pm, $8—$35.

SEATTLE CHAMBER PLAYERS
The SCP premieres seven pieces by seven composers—most of them born in the 1960s and '70s—from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Russia. Pre-concert talk starts at 6:00 p.m. Recital Hall at Benaroya, 200 University St, 286-5052, 7 pm, $12—$20.