Dalia Stasevska has loved music since she was a child. 

It wasn’t until her introduction to classical music by a teacher when she was 12 years old that she realized she’d discovered a lifelong passion.

“She gave me a CD with opera, ‘Madame Butterfly’ by Puccini,” Stasevska said. “It blew my mind, really, it changed my life. I never heard an orchestra play before or the singing of opera as an art form. Just imagine a 12 year old, it caught me by the bones. I’ve been addicted to orchestra and opera since.”

Stasevska’s love for those sounds have taken her around the world. From chamber orchestras to philharmonic orchestras, no matter the number of musicians, she’s always followed her love of music.

“I’ve always been a very social person and I enjoyed a lot of playing together and just meeting new friends,” she said. “... It’s not only me doing the sound, but everyone has their own function, it’s like building a house. There’s all the elements needed to make a symphony sound like it is. It’s so thrilling.”

She’s taking that thrill to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this weekend in a three-night-only concert.

“I wanted to take as a main piece that is really dear to me,” she said. “I think I’m deeply connected to Hungarian music so this is something I feel really at home conducting.”

The concerts will showcase Tarrodi’s “Birds of Paradise II,” Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto,” and Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra.”

For more information visit cso.org.

Follow Angel Idowu on Twitter: @angelidowu3

Angel Idowu is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.