Founded in 1921, Orchestra Iowa is widely recognized as the state’s premier symphony orchestra. The Orchestra’s mission is to foster enjoyment of, and support for fine symphonic music through quality performances, education and community involvement. Under the direction of Timothy Hankewich, having just completed his eighth season as Music Director, its 68 professional musicians perform more than 180 public performances throughout the year, many of which can be heard on Iowa Public Radio and seen on Iowa Public Television. Orchestra Iowa showcases its artistic excellence each season through an accomplished array of classical, ballet, opera, popular and chamber performances, in addition to extensive community education and involvement.
"Justly acclaimed as a titanic force at the keyboard," (Cleveland.com) world-renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson* joins Orchestra Iowa to perform Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's most famous work, his beloved Piano Concerto. A new work by Iowa-based composer Nancy Hill Cobb, the third Orchestra Iowa Centennial commission, will receive its world premiere.
Mexican composer Arturo Marquez's most famous composition, Danzon No. 2, opens a program full of power, fire, energy, and percussive flair. Rising star percussionist Brotton-Rene Collins tackles Grammy-Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty's Dreamachine, a concerto for percussion that pays tribute to the imagination of inventors who envision new machines, both real and fantastical.
Grammy-nominated violinist Cho-Liang Lin amazes audiences around the world with his “musical charisma” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) and “dazzling” playing (The New York Times). Lin takes the stage to open our 100th Anniversary Masterworks season with Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Violin Concerto, along a world-premiere performance of Towering Oaks, an Orchestra Iowa Centennial commission by Cedar Rapids composer Jerry Owen.
Joel THOMPSON
Seven Last Words of the Unarmed
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor “Choral”
A. Renee, soprano
Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano
Joshua Stewart, tenor
TBD, bass
Jazz and classical saxophonist Branford Marsalis, of the famed Marsalis family, has established a career as a performer of international renown, equally at home in both concert halls and jazz clubs. For this concert, the three-time Grammy Award winner and NEA Jazz Master joins Orchestra Iowa for a concert featuring music by Duke Ellington, Sally Beamish, John Williams, and Aaron Copeland.
