Pianist Alex Mcdonald will perform during the East Texas Symphony Orchestra Association's third annual Piano Festival on Friday and Saturday at Liberty Hall on the Tyler square.

Pianist Alex McDonald will perform during the East Texas Symphony Orchestra Association’s third annual Piano Festival on Friday and Saturday at Liberty Hall on the downtown Tyler square.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, McDonald will be joined by Rachel Smith, violin; Shane Almendarez, viola; Alex Blair, double bass; Sarah Roberts, saxophone; Vicki Conway, piano; and Mary Tidwell, piano.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, he will present a solo recital.

Admission to each performance is $20 for adults and $10 for students.

McDonald has been a guest soloists with Orquesta Sinfnica del Estado de Mexico, Louisiana Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Utah Symphony Orchestra, according to information from festival promoters.

He has placed in international piano competitions and was in the 2014 Van Cliburn Competition. McDonald has master’s and doctoral degrees from Juilliard and is on the faculty at Texas Woman’s University.

The festival also will include “Music and the Brain,” a seminar for pianists and educators from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The $25 fee includes a pre-seminar lunch. The seminar will be lead by clinicians Sheila Paige and Vicki Conway.

To order tickets and receive more information, go to etso.org.