In theater, the new is cherished. Perform the classics, yes, but let us have new plays, whether musicals or serious dramas. In the dance world, living choreographers are indispensable for the new ballets they create. “Nutcrackers” abound, but so do exciting visions created for today.

Yet in classical music, the new can sometimes seem as rare as cheese in Chinese food. At symphony orchestra concerts, just as at chamber concerts or the opera, the familiar holds sway. Take three symphonic concerts taking place in Phoenix and Tempe over the next two weeks:

This Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Phoenix Symphony Hall, at 7:30 each night, guest conductor Xian Zhang will conduct the Phoenix Symphony at in Schumann’s “Symphony No. 4,” Brahms’ “Variations on a Theme” by Haydn, and Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta.”

Next week at Symphony Hall, in concerts at 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 22, and also at 11 a.m. April 21, guest conductor Peter Oundjian will lead the Symphony in Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, with soloist Caitlin Tully.

Finally, at 7:30 p.m., on Tuesday, April 18, at Gammage Auditorium in Tempe, the Sinfonietta and Chamber Orchestra at Arizona State University will perform music from some of the great Italian operas of Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti and Mascagni.

The most recent piece in that entire lineup is the Prokofiev, composed in 1935–71 years ago. To get a perspective, imagine a theater season in which the newest play was something by O’Neill, perhaps, or Clifford Odets.

Not to begrudge the beauty and necessity of preserving the classics, but thank goodness for a fourth upcoming orchestral program, given by the intrepid conductor and (in this case) composer, Warren Cohen. Cohen leads a range of orchestral ensembles in the north Valley, from the full‑sized symphony orchestra called Musica Nova to a baroque group. On Saturday, April 22, it’s his Fine Arts String Orchestra set to perform at 8 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, 4027 E. Lincoln Dr., Paradise Valley.

Where most orchestra programs that contain any new music generally boast only one new work among three or four, Cohen’s program sets that on its head and promises three world premieres in a single concert, plus one piece from the mainstream repertoire, Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.”

Cohen’s own work in the concert, his “Concerto Grosso No. 3,” was written for the unusual combination of flute choir and string orchestra, a blend that promises warmth and glassiness in tandem. He composed it at the suggestion of the principal flutist for Musica Nova, Jeanie Pierce, who told Cohen in casual conversation that, to her knowledge, no score had ever been penned for flute choir and strings.

Pierce added another aspect to the challenge by pointing out that a friend of hers, Leslie Etcel, owned the only contrabass flute in the state of Arizona. A contrabass flute is pitched so low that its bottom note is the same as that of the cello.

The challenge resulted in a new piece by Cohen featuring piccolo, two flutes, and an alto, a bass and a contrabass flute, along with the usual strings.

Cohen said he got particular pleasure from overcoming one of the flute’s most famous paradoxes. While the flute is notably agile, capable of racing along at top speed, it also requires frequent breathing, making nonstop allegro playing difficult, if not impossible in some arrangements. But with six flutes of all ranges at his disposal, Cohen was able to have the piece scoot along quickly and without interruption for breathing, because the line is “switched among the flutes, giving the effect of no one breathing, even though they are.”

The other premieres on April 22 will be a piece called “Meditation” by Malaysia‑based composer Patrick Jonathan, and “Luminescence,” written by Larry Groupe, a Hollywood composer best known for his work in the current TV series, “Commander‑in‑Chief.”

Cohen thinks that most bigger orchestras shy away from the new, with the exception of works by a handful of usual suspects,  for a very poor reason.

“I think it’s fear–fear of the new, fear of going out on a limb, and the terrible fear that someone will say, ‘I don’t like it.’ The people with big money who support orchestras tend to be exceedingly conservative and have the perception that doing something new is risky.”

In fact, for classical music, the riskiest thing of all may be continuing to do the same old repertoire while forgetting about today.

For tickets to Phoenix Symphony concerts, go to www.phoenixsymphony.org. For information on the ASU Orchestras, go to www.herbergercollege.asu.edu. And for tickets to Cohen’s Fine Arts String Orchestra, log on to www.musicanovaaz.org.