KICKOFF I: When you major in music at UNT, you expect to play a few pretty significant concerts. But one in front of 30,000 people? That’s the plan for tonight, when the UNT Orchestra will play Cowboys Stadium as part of the big Tim McGraw concert that will kick off the countdown to the Super Bowl. The group will provide the live music for a video presentation of Cowboys highlights. Fox 4 spoke with some of the players about performing on such a big stage.

KICKOFF II: The Dallas Symphony Orchestra launched its 2010-11 season last night with an all-Beethoven program. Pianist Jeffery Kahane was scheduled to perform the Piano Concerto No. 4, but the DSO called an audible and went with Symphony No. 5 in C minor when Kahane called in sick. The switcheroo did little to dampen the evening, tough. Scott Cantrell called the night “exhilarating,” though he notes the under-rehearsed Fifth was a little rough. Our own Olin Chism didn’t mind so much, calling the performance of the piece, “taut.” Meanwhile, Gregory Sullivan Isaacs noticed quite a change in Jaap van Zweden’s conducting technique. “By eliminating extraneous motions, he has much more time to convey nuance, which he did most eloquently throughout,” he writes on theaterjones.com. “He delivered a truly great, and technically polished, performance.”

THEATER BITS: Artes de la Rosa’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof makes a seamless transition from Memphis to Miami. (dfw.com) … Casa Manana opens The Sound of Music this weekend. Ahead of the first performance, Steve Blanchard talks about playing Captain von Trapp. (theaterjones.com) … Next weekend, Dallas Children’s Theater begins its season with Miss Nelson is Missing! So what exactly makes for good children’s theater? The New York Times says the best work for kids also plays well to adults. (nytimes.com)