Central Iowa Symphony
3-11-04

Contacts: Laura Miller, CIS publicity, (515) 233-3731 or
lwmiller@iastate.edu; or Matt Smith, CIS guest conductor, (515) 294-1520
or mosmith@iastate.edu 

CENTRAL IOWA SYMPHONY HIGHLIGHTS AMERICAN MASTERPIECES
 From the New World
3 p.m., Sunday, April 4
Ames City Auditorium, Fifth and Clark

Central Iowa Symphony's final concert of the season will feature a
visitor's final gift while on a sojourn to America and masterpieces by
two beloved American composers, Virgil Thomson and Aaron Copland.

The concert will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 4, in Ames City Auditorium
under the direction of guest conductor Matt Smith.

The program, "From the New World," will feature Anton Dvorak's
romantic "Cello Concerto" by worldwide performer and music
professor Julie Sturm. The Czech composer wrote the piece in 1895 while
in the United States, part of which time he lived with his family in the
tiny Czech community of Spillville in northeast Iowa.

"This is one of the masterpieces of the cello repertoire and Sturm is
truly a master musician," said Smith, associate director of bands at
Iowa State University. "The work incorporates the entire orchestra,
especially the woodwinds, while also allowing the soloist an opportunity
to be very
expressive."

Sturm is a visiting assistant professor of cello at Central College in
Pella and principal cellist with the Des Moines Symphony. She has
performed extensively in the United States, Germany, Israel, Austria,
Mexico and South Korea. She holds a bachelor' degree from San Francisco
Conservatory of Music, a master's degree from Indiana University, and a
Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. 

She received a Fulbright grant for research in Germany and spent four
years as an artist-teacher in Munich. She has been a faculty member of
the Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts in the Boston area, the
New England Conservatory of Music pre-college division, and assistant
professor of cello and music theory at Drake University. She also is a
member of the adjunct music theory faculty at Iowa State University.

The April 4 program also will feature music from the only film score to
receive the Pulitzer Prize. The symphony will perform a composition by
Virgil Thomson from the 1948 film, Louisiana Story. Part documentary, the
film follows a boy who is caught in the warfare between the encroaching
oil industry and its Bayou
inhabitants. 

Thomson, who composed in almost every music genre and was chief music
critic for the New York Herald Tribune, Thomson draws upon Cajun music
for "Acadian Songs and Dances." The piece is written in very
short movements with descriptive titles. Emil Polashek of Ames will
accompany the symphony on accordion in a movement entitled
"Squeezebox."

American folk influences also form the basis for Aaron Copland's
"The Tender Land." It was Copland's only full-scale opera,
commissioned by Broadway's Rodgers and Hammerstein for a television
performance in 1954. The symphony will perform one of two suites from the
opera, written in Copland’s expansive, full-orchestral style.

"All of these pieces are very fun to listen to, and I think offer
something for everyone," Smith said. "They have a spring-like
freshness and will be a great way to close out our 17th annual
season."

The 70-member Central Iowa Symphony is comprised of professional
musicians, music educators, exceptional student performers, and
accomplished amateurs. Tickets are $12 for adults, $11 for seniors (ages
65 and older) and $5 for students. They may be purchased in advance at
Big Table Books and Rieman Music in Ames, or at the door. To place credit
card orders, call Ames City Auditorium at (515) 239-5360.

The public is invited to join Smith for Concert Conversations, an
informal discussion about the program in the City Council chambers
beginning at 2:15 p.m.
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