The Akron Symphony Orchestra’s music director, Christopher Wilkins, has a knack for spotting important talent on the rise. Pianist Yuja Wang performed in Akron just as her international career was gaining traction. Now, violin-lovers won’t want to miss a program on Saturday, March 17, featuring the rising young violinist Chad Hoopes.

Born in Naples, Fla. in 1994, Hoopes started gaining notice in the music world when he studied and performed at Encore School for Strings, a summer program (now defunct) run by David Cerone and the Cleveland Institute of Music in nearby Hudson, Ohio. Even then, it was obvious that he had something special: charisma and a precocious musical maturity to back it up.

Now a high school senior and a student in Cleveland Institute of Music’s Preparatory division, Hoopes is also a 2011-2012 Artist-in-Residence at Classical Minnesota Public Radio (Classical MPR). This follows the violinist’s win of first prize in the Young Artists Division of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition.

On Saturday, Hoopes will perform a perennial favorite, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, with the Akron Symphony, a Knight Arts grantee. A note to violin connoisseurs: He plays the 1713 Antonio Stradivari Cooper; Hakkert; ex Ceci violin, courtesy of Jonathan Moulds.

Northeast Ohio Roots John Morris Russell, Saturday’s guest conductor, served as an assistant conductor of the Akron Symphony Orchestra from 1986-88. Last year, he was named to succeed Erich Kunzel, the longtime leader of the high-profile Cincinnati Pops.

It’s worth noting that Russell is the second assistant conductor in Akron to go on to a prestigious pops post: Keith Lockhart took over for Arthur Fiedler at the Boston Pops in 1995.

On March 17, Russell will lead the Akron Symphony in a classical program of Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides” Overture and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, along with the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

Russell has covered a lot of musical territory over his career. Akronites have him to thank for starting the Little Tikes series (then sponsored by the eponymous toy manufacturer in nearby Hudson, Ohio) for pre-schoolers at the Akron Symphony.  The popular series continues today as Concerts for Kids.

The Cleveland native serves as music director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Canada. He worked with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Festival, its summer home near Akron.

A virtuoso and a veteran: Saturday’s concert should be a good one.

The Akron Symphony performs at 8 p.m. March 17 at E.J. Thomas Hall, 198 Hill St., Akron. For tickets, call the Akron Symphony office at 330-535-8131, visit www.akronsymphony.org/jmr2012, or call EJ Thomas Hall at 330-972-7570. Akron Symphony Orchestra, 17 N. Broadway; 330-535-8131; www.akronsymphony.org.