The Lancaster Festival Chamber Orchestra made its final appearance for this year’s festival last night with a concert in St. Mary Church. Music Director Gary Sheldon led works by Beethoven, Elgar and Iannaccone, the composer from Eastern Michigan University whose American Jubilee won the festival’s first national competition for a new American orchestral composition.

Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, the intended finale, opened the concert. A citywide power failure had thrown the church into virtual darkness, but Sheldon knew his experienced players knew the Beethoven piece. There were prayers for light before the less-familiar music took the stage, and the prayers were answered by a donated generator.

The Pastoral shows a side of Beethoven we don’t often encounter. Except for the brief thunderstorm passage (preceded by a real one at concert time), the symphony is on a human scale. It portrays nature idealized by its nature-loving composer.

The opening movement proceeds placidly with few typically Beethovenlike gestures. The music has been labeled “sublime monotony”.

The performance was splendid from first note to last. Sheldon has the measure of the music - not all conductors do - and coaxed top contributions from his 35 players.

The flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet and horn solos were especially wonderful.

The audience leapt to its feet, cheering, at the end, a response above and beyond the usual friendly enthusiasm with which Lancaster folk greet festival events.

The Veronika String Quartet joined for Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro for Strings. A kind of 19th-century concerto grosso, the quartet members were soloists as well as part of the larger group. With stately themes and rich harmonies, both typical of the composer, this is attractive music.

Iannaccone’s music made an even stronger impression than at the winning read-through on Monday. The loud passages still seem strident for the folk melodies featured, but the piece makes for good listening.