Acadiana Symphony Orchestra Conductor Mariusz Smolij told attendees of the Iberia Cultural Resource Association’s annual Patrons and Sponsors celebration Thursday night that he envisions Sunday’s “Prelude to Spring” concert as the musical equivalent of an art exhibition.

“I think of it like a visit to an art gallery with someone who can give you some background, some deeper understanding of the paintings,” he said to the gathering of about 100 of the group’s members.

As an example, he spoke about composer Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” which will be featured in Sunday’s concert, and Vivaldi’s original concept for what has become one of his best-known works.

“He wrote the four concertos, but before that he wrote four sonnets,” Smolij explained. “He associated passages in each of the concertos with passages in each of the sonnets.”

The audience laughed as Smolij said he would read the corresponding poetic passages during the performance because “my Polish accent is the same as Italian.”

Sunday’s concert, which begins at 3 p.m. at the St. Peter’s Catholic Church on St. Peter Street in New Iberia, will also feature selections such as Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desire” and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening,” from the musical “South Pacific.”

Attendees at Thursday’s event also enjoyed a buffet from various local restaurants, some lovely piano background music from pianist Julia Hallan.

The Iberia Cultural Resource Association sponsors four concerts each year in conjunction with the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra. This marks the 10th year for the “Prelude to Spring” event. This summer, the ICRA will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a cultural resource in Iberia Parish.