Orchestra Iowa programs season of sound all around the state

By Diana Nollen

Orchestra Iowa will be a symphony on the go next season.

The venerable ensemble based in Cedar Rapids will be reaching out to even more corners of the Corridor and the state with its 2010-11 season, “The Sound is All Around.” Season tickets go on sale Monday (4/26/10) at the Symphony Center, 119 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids.

Displaced from the Paramount Theatre by the floods of 2008, the orchestra will continue to perform primarily in Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College in Cedar Rapids and West High School in Iowa City. The group also will venture into the new 1,000-seat concert hall at Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids, with Verdi's Requiem in March and Mahler's Fifth Symphony in June 2011.

“Verdi's Requiem is not only a massive piece, but it's our first time performing in Prairie's auditorium. That is a huge accomplishment for us,” says Timothy Hankewich, the orchestra's music director. “Now that we're in the middle of bringing back the Paramount, it's important for the audience to realize what great acoustics can do for a performing organization. It's spectacular,” he says of Prairie's $7.5 million state-of-the-art facility, which opened last year.

Orchestra Iowa is living up to its new name, by heading to Decorah, Mason City, Cedar Falls, Coralville, Davenport and Fairfield.

“Our programming has never taken us more far afield than next season,” says Hankewich, 42, of Cedar Rapids, entering his fifth season at the symphony's helm. “When we changed our name, it was with that understanding. There comes a responsibility with regionalism and with the loss of the Paramount. We also understood that unless we expand our audience and donor base, we wouldn't be able to sustain our orchestra.”

Audiences are traveling with the symphony, he says.

“It was a struggle when it first began, but now that a semblance of routine has set in, audiences are finding us and are growing, most specifically in Iowa City,” he says. “We have found since the flood that subscriptions are down but single-ticket (sales) are up.”

Two of the newest venues have brought the largest crowds. More than 4,000 audience members gathered on the front lawn at Brucemore in Cedar Rapids for the season opener Sept. 12 and 2,500 people spanning several generations jammed to the music of Queen in the U.S. Cellular Center on April 10.

When the orchestra returns to Brucemore on Sept. 18, the program will have a familiar ring to it, from Wagner and Saturn.

“Each year we have to come up with something to outdo the season before,” Hankewich says with a laugh. Problem solved when someone pointed out to him that the mansion's great hall features a mural based on Wagner's Ring Cycle.

“Brucemorchestra!” will showcase four pieces from the Ring Cycle, including the popular “Ride of the Valkyries,” as well as “The Planets” by Gustav Holst, played under the stars.

“The marriage of the Ring Cycle and Brucemore seemed to be a great idea,” Hankewich says. “Most of this music people will have heard - if not on ‘Bugs Bunny,' then elsewhere.”

Other season highlights include a return to the Kernels ballpark for symphonic rock, a game and fireworks Memorial Day weekend 2011; a pairing of light classical music and slapstick comedy from Tomas Kubinek; “Follidays” for the holidays; and the works of Gustav Mahler sprinkled throughout the season, in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary of his death.

“We'll end with the Mahler 5, one of the most exciting pieces we're doing this year,” Hankewich says. “Every one of Mahler's symphonies is titanic in scope, but the fifth is arguably his most popular. The sheer, massive power and strength behind it is unique.

“Musicians tend to salivate when they get the chance to play Mahler. He's one of these amazing composers who is able to orchestrate in a manner that gives everyone a taste of virtuosity.”

Orchestra Iowa 2010-11 season

BRUCEMORCHESTRA!

Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.: Season opener, front lawn at Brucemore, 2160 Linden Dr. SE, Cedar Rapids                

Wagner, from the Ring Cycle: “Ride of the Valkyries,” “Siegfried's Rhine Journey,” “Magic Fire Music,” “Siegfried's Funeral Music”

Holst: “The Planets,” with NASA footage projected on giant screens throughout the lawn

Ravel, Barber and Mahler

Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., Sinclair Auditorium, Cedar Rapids

 Oct. 10, 2:30 p.m., West High School, Iowa City

Guest artist: Mary Wilson, soprano

Ravel: “Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose)”

Barber: “Knoxville: Summer of 1915”

Mahler: Symphony No. 4          

Professor Kubinek Meets the Symphony                    

World premiere, in collaboration with Hancher

Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m., Sinclair Auditorium, Cedar Rapids

Nov. 7, 2:30 p.m., West High School, Iowa City

Guest artist: Tomas Kubinek

Light classical music meets comedy, in the vein of Peter Schickele and Victor Borge

Chamber Players

Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m., site to be determined

Hindemith: Sonata for Double Bass and Piano

Popper: Requiem

J.s. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6

Celebration of Carols

Dec. 4, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., Sinclair Auditorium, Cedar Rapids

Dec. 5, 2:30 p.m., West High School, Iowa City

Featuring: Discovery Children's Chorus, Espressivo Strings from the Preucil School and Orchestra Iowa Chorale

Traditional holiday music and sacred Christmas carols, from Bach's Christmas Oratorio to Handel's “Messiah.”

Follidays

Dec. 18, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 19, 2:30 p.m.; Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m.; Sinclair Auditorium, Cedar Rapids

Holiday extravaganza in the tradition of the annual Follies.

Mussorgsky, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky

Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m., Sinclair Auditorium, Cedar Rapids

Jan. 23, 2:30 p.m., West High School, Iowa City

Guest artist: Alan Huckleberry, piano

Mussorgsky: “Night on Bald Mountain”         

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1              

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

Chamber Players

Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., site to be determined

Debussy: Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp

Poulenc: Sonata for Trumpet, Horn, and Trombone

Saint-Saens: Piano Trio No. 1 in F, Op. 18

Verdi Requiem

March 19, 7:30 p.m., March 20, 2:30 p.m., Prairie High School, Cedar Rapids

Verdi: Requiem    

Mahler, Haydn and Mozart

April 7, 7:30 p.m., Sinclair Auditorium, Cedar Rapids

April 9, 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre, Iowa City

Guest artist: Anthony Arnone, cello

Mahler: “Blumine”

Haydn: Cello Concerto in C Major

Mozart: Symphony No. 40        

Chamber Players

May 7, 2011, 7:30 p.m., site to be determined

Brahms: Piano Quartet

Beethoven: Septet in E-flat, Op. 20

Blood, Sweat & Tears; Earth, Wind & Fire; Chicago         

May 28, 2011, 4 p.m., Veterans Memorial Stadium, Cedar Rapids

Memorial Day weekend triple header, with music by Orchestra Iowa and Jeans 'n Classics, followed by a Kernels game and fireworks. One ticket for all three.

Rain date: May 29, 7:30 p.m.

Mahler 5

June 11, 2011, 7:30 p.m., Prairie High School, Cedar Rapids

June 12, 2011, 2:30 p.m., site to be determined

Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Follies on Parade

July 9, 10, 16 and 17, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Cedar Falls

By popular demand, Follies has been included as a subscription option.

SEASON TICKETS

• On sale: beginning Monday, April 26, 2010, at the Symphony Center, 119 Third Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids.
• Passport Series: tickets to all 14 concerts, $399 to $269
• Classical Series: eight concerts, $279 to $169
• Popular Series: four concerts, $159 to $99
• Chamber Series: three concerts, $49
• Compose-Your-Own: subscription to 10, eight, six or four concerts available
• Information: (319) 366-8203, 1-(800) 369-8863 or e-mail ticketoffice@orchestraiowa.org