This weekend, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra and Chorus take to the high seas with Symphony No. 1, "A Sea Symphony," by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

The symphony and its chorus join forces each season for a large work scored for chorus and orchestra. This year the score also calls for baritone and soprano soloists.

The 90-member Lancaster Symphony Chorus is comprised of community singers, joined by contingents from Millersville University and Franklin & Marshall College.

"We have in this choir young people, middle-aged, and people somewhat older," Maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser said of the chorus. "The journey of life that each of these people is undertaking brings something to bear on the music. Music is a noble expression of the soul and so it is fitting that we have the voice — the soul — of the entire community represented."

"England is an island nation, and is completely influenced by water," Gunzenhauser said. "In 'A Sea Symphony,' you have an absolutely remarkable construction — a piece of music that truly transcends what you would expect in a symphony. The work has a very English flavor, but interestingly, Vaughan Williams chose a text that is not English."

Instead, the composer drew his texts from American poet Walt Whitman's 1855 collection "Leaves of Grass." The chosen portions deal with nearly every aspect of the sea. The work, completed in 1909, is in four movements: "A Song for all Seas, all Ships," "On the Beach at Night Alone," "Scherzo — The Waves" and "The Explorers."

Inspired by these visionary poems, Vaughan Williams undertook an extremely ambitious first symphony. While there certainly was a precedent for fully integrated choral-orchestral works before his time — notably the 1839 dramatic symphony "Romeo and Juliet" by Hector Berlioz — Vaughan Williams' innovative piece constituted the first modern symphony in which the voices were woven into the very fabric of the music from start to finish.

According to chorus master Mark Williams, there is no doubt that this symphony is very demanding for the chorus.

However, he said, "Vaughan Williams writes such singable melodies that have such power, but also such grace and beauty. It's not a raw power, but a very refined and elegant power. There is tremendous strength in the melodic writing and the harmonic successions are very strong.

"The tone painting is also really exquisite, but never cliché. It gives you very, very powerful images at times — visions of the sea heaving and the sensation of the wind blowing. It is a landmark piece in so many ways."

Philip Lima, a resident of Boston, has filled the role of baritone soloist in "A Sea Symphony" before.

"It's really funny, though — every time I've sung this piece, it's been in an inland location," he said during a telephone interview.

He described the work as "very affecting" for him personally.

"I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where the story of Moby Dick begins. And I have family members and others I know who are merchant marines, so the whole nautical theme — I have a real connection to it.

"A couple of the portions I find most powerful are in sections I don't even sing. In the fourth movement, before the soloists enter, there are two a cappella sections for women's voices. The words and the context in which the segments appear musically are unbelievably beautiful. I remember once in a rehearsal of this part some years ago, I felt myself welling up and I actually had to quickly walk off the stage to pull myself back together."

Soprano soloist Evelyn Santiago, reached by phone, said, "'A Sea Symphony' combines all types of emotions from the beginning of the piece to the very end. There is confusion, uncertainty, triumph — majestic beautiful lines and soft, tender moments. It is a very emotional work. When I sing, I always think of describing the sea to a blind person who has never seen it. The ocean is limitless, but also very immediate, and you have to convey that whole range of sensations."

The soprano's role is demanding and dramatic, with a number of high B-flats and B-naturals.

"Vocally, it is not the easiest," Santiago said. "It will require some careful pacing and taking care of my voice.

"The trunk of my car is also filled with water," she joked.

Also in this concert, the prestigious Composer's Award will be presented to Jennifer Higdon. The annual prize has been awarded for 47 years by the Lancaster symphony to a living American composer.

Higdon, speaking by phone from her home in Philadelphia, said she is very honored to receive this award.

As for being only the third woman to receive it, she said, "You know, people don't really talk so much anymore about how I am a 'woman composer,' but that is because the doors were really kicked down on my behalf by composers such as Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Joan Tower."

They happen to be the two previous women to receive this award.

The orchestra will perform the Pennsylvania premiere of "River Sings a Song to Trees," a movement of Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra; City Scape, a work inspired by her Southern childhood.

"I'm always struck by how many trees are around Atlanta," Higdon said. "The neighborhoods are pretty lush, and some are really old trees. There are also creeks and rivers running through Atlanta — there was one running through our backyard growing up. So this movement is about the sounds that a river makes singing its song to the trees.

"I think it is a piece that speaks to everyone. You don't need to have any understanding of classical music."

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, "A Sea Symphony," with guest vocalists Evelyn Santiago and Philip Lima, Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 3 and 8 p.m., Sun. 7:30 p.m., $23-$58, Fulton Opera House, 12 N. Prince St., 397-7425.