Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra stretches musical boundaries in October
By Diana Nollen
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Maestro Robert McConnell is conjuring two very different Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra concerts in October. One features works spectacular. The other, spooktacular. With a liberal dash of magic in both.
Spencer Myer, professor and chair of the piano program at Indiana University in Bloomington, is returning to the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra stages on Oct. 10 and 11 to perform Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor. (spencermyer.com photo)
MASTERWORKS I: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
On Oct. 10 and 11, audiences and musicians alike will stroll through Europe with Ottorino Respighi's "Fountains of Rome," Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," and Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor. The latter features the return of internationally renowned pianist Spencer Myer, an award-winning Steinway Artist who chairs the piano program at Indiana University.
"I can guarantee that for many listeners, this will be one of the favorite concerts they have ever heard by our orchestra," McConnell said. " 'Pictures at an Exhibition' is always in the Top 5 list of classical music, and we have it paired with the fantastic Grieg Piano Concerto, and then the super colorful 'Fountains of Rome.' This is one of those unique concerts that includes a double harp instrumentation plus dramatic effects. This is just a really fun concert."
Italian composer Respighi paints pictures of four Roman fountains at various times of day in his 1916 work, the first of three tone poems which collectively describe Rome's fountains, pines and festivals. "Fountains of Rome" evokes images ranging from pastoral dawn and a joyous morning call, to the solemnity of the majestic, picturesque Trevi Fountain, and finally, the nostalgia of sunset as day slips into the silence of night.
The orchestra's musical journey travels to Russia for a suite of works inspired by painter Viktor Hartmann's posthumous installation at Saint Petersburg's Imperial Academy of Art. His early death from an aneurysm haunted his friend, Modest Mussorgsky, who fell into a deep depression, feeling if he had insisted Hartmann receive earlier medical care, his life might have been spared. Various Hartmann paintings inspired Mussorgsky's initial piano work, "Pictures at an Exhibition," composed in just three weeks in June 1874, and later orchestrated by French composer Maurice Ravel in 1922.
Among the pictorial themes are a stroll through the exhibition hall; a nutcracker depicted as a lurching gnome; a troubadour singing in front of a castle; children quarreling at play in a garden; cattle pulling a huge oxen cart; chicks dancing with just their legs emerging from their shells; portraits of rich and poor Polish Jews; a French market; Parisian catacombs; the Russian witch Baba Yaga; and the plans calling for a great gate in Kiev, which was never built.
Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg was just 24 in 1868, when he composed his only piano concerto, but audiences will hear his final version, completed shortly before his death in 1907. Known for weaving elements of Norwegian folk tales into his music, his Piano Concerto in A Minor showcases his signature melodic themes and harmonies. While this marks the third time the concerto has been performed in the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra's 76-year history -- first in 1956, then in 2012 -- audiences have heard pianist Spencer Myer's artistry half a dozen times. He not only has dazzled local audiences, The Boston Globe has praised his "superb playing" and "poised, alert musicianship."
This Masterworks Concert will be performed at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at The Capitol in Burlington; at 2 p.m. Oct. 11 in Ottumwa's Bridge View Center; and at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11 in Mount Pleasant's Chapel Auditorium. Tickets are $25 general admission at www.seiso.us or at the door, and free for students and children. All ticketholders are invited to a free reception following each event.
KIDSYMPHONY! FAMILY CONCERTS
Halloween is the theme for the Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 KidSymphony! Family Concerts.
Where's Waldo? He's showing off his trumpet to audience members at one of the 2025 KidSymphony! Family Concerts. The 2026 concerts will be held in various southeast Iowa locations Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. (SEISO photo)
Audience members of all ages are invited to don their favorite costumes to hear musical tricks and treats. Many musicians -- including Maestro McConnell -- will be decked out in style, as well. "We call it 'kids symphony,' but this is really for everybody. It's not just for kids," McConnell said. "We play music that's really familiar for the kids, and in this case we're doing several of the hit tunes from the musical 'Wicked,' and then 'Golden' from 'KPop Demon Hunters.' We're also doing a really cool new piece we just got ahold of called 'The Merry-Go-Round of Life,' from the hit Japanese/American Anime movie 'Howl's Moving Castle.' "
Do your kids squirm? Who cares. This is their concert, and if they get the wiggles or talk out loud, that's allowed. "KidSymphony! Family Concerts are among my favorite concerts to do," McConnell added. "The attendees get to hear each instrument demonstrated on its own, and they come up on stage after the concert and interact with the players, and even get to try to play some of the instruments."
Concert times on Oct. 31 are 11 a.m. at Ottumwa's Bridge View Center; 2 p.m. at Mount Pleasant's Chapel Auditorium; and 4:30 p.m. at The Capitol in Burlington. Start times Nov. 1 are 2 p.m. in Fairfield's Arts & Convention Center and 4:30 p.m. at Washington, Iowa, High School.
Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children.
For tickets and more information, click HERE