As the planned city of Columbia makes plans to celebrate its 50th birthday next year, a local cultural organization that is nearly as old as its namesake city, Columbia Pro Cantare, observes its own 40th anniversary with a gala concert on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m., at Jim Rouse Theatre in Wilde Lake."It is an achievement tokeep a group going for 40 years," remarked Frances Motyca Dawson, founder and longtime music director of Columbia Pro Cantare.Dawson's many accomplishments with her group include performing works by around 200 composers, among them a number of Czech composers who share her ethnic heritage.She said she is proud of these achievements and looks forward to the season ahead, while acknowledging that her group, like other arts organizations, is "challenged by an economic situation" that has not fully recovered from the recession.The season-opening concert amounts to a heartfelt and mostly cheerful assertion that the classical show must go on. Indeed, Columbia Pro Cantare's upcoming concert and, for that matter, the entire season are under the thematic title "Fanfare to Dreams, Visions, Hope."Dawson thinks of this season as being "dedicated to the fallen," namely, those people who have fallen victim to political strife and violence both at home and abroad, while also celebrating the human spirit that helps people overcome such adversity and assert their shared humanity.Literally giving instrumental and vocal support to such feelings at the season-opening concert are the Columbia Pro Cantare Chorus and Chamber Singers, the Howard County Concert Orchestra, soprano Rachel Blaustein, mezzo Zoe Band, trumpet soloist Susan Rider, and organist Donald Fries."I have picked pieces that will appeal to everyone and that have a fanfare quality to them," Dawson said of her selections for this concert.Certainly one of the most emotional pieces on the program is American composer Stephen Paulus' Holocaust-themed "Hymn to the Eternal Flame," a five-minute, a cappella piece derived from his 2008 cantata "To Be Certain of the Dawn."The remainder of the program consists of Vivaldi's "Gloria," Haydn's "Missa Brevis," Handel's "Let the Light Seraphim" from his oratorio "Samson," and Purcell's Sonata in D Major.Like the trumpet solos that rise upward in several of these pieces, the concert promises to uplift the audience gathered for this 40th anniversary program.Equally uplifting are the concerts that comprise the rest of the season.By way of extending an annual tradition, Columbia Pro Cantare performs Handel's "Messiah" on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Rouse Theatre; and there is a Christmas Noel program featuring the Pro Cantare Chamber Singers on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church in Columbia.Dawson further explores a career-long interest with a program titled "Eastern European Masters" on Sunday, March 19 at 3 p.m. at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ellicott City.The season concludes on Sunday, May 14 at 8 p.m. at Rouse Theatre with what qualifies as a commemorative triple header that honors the 50th birthday of Columbia, the 40th anniversary of Columbia Pro Cantare and the 20th anniversary of Rouse Theatre.Columbia Pro Cantare performs Saturday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. at Jim Rouse Theatre at Wilde Lake, 5460 Trumpeter Road in Columbia. The event includes a pre-concert lecture by Dr. Barbara Renton at 7 p.m., a post-concert reception and a silent auction. Tickets are $23, $20 for seniors and students, in advance, and $2 more at the door; $10 for children under 15. Call 410-799-9321 or go to www.procantare.org.