LEFTOVERS

These past few weeks have been extremely busy for Orchestra Iowa, and yet have displayed some of the most efficient work we've done since my arrivaI. I'm reminded how my mother used to keep leftovers in the refrigerator and manage to turn them into spectacular new meals for days to follow making the most of our food budget. The same can be said about our recent concert series. "Neocons" has been recycled and re-used in a variety of guises and has allowed us to reach several of our goals. It all started 2 weeks ago, when we held 2 rehearsals in preparation for the upcoming concert series. I then excerpted various movements from the concert and wove them together to form an education program for the areas school children. We performed 5 concerts in both Iowa City and Cedar Rapids and reached over 4,000 fourth graders. I LOVE performing for students as they are the most open and enthusiastic audience one could ever hope for, and yet can be the most difficult to reach if not done with care.

After our series of education concerts, we had one more rehearsal to brush everything off and then performed the entire program at the Opera House in Elkader. Wow, what a spectacular venue! It is a beautifully renovated theater dating from 1903 and was a perfect intimate setting for the orchestra. I had to laugh in that the first thing we investigated when we arrived was how they managed their auditorium seating. With many parallels with our needs in the Paramount Theatre, it was great to see how they solved the problem of maintaining a period look to the seating, while at the same time being sensitive to leg room and width of the chairs--they did a marvelous job. The audience was great and VERY appreciative, and are eager to have us back. We were told that in the entire hundred-year history of the building, we were the first symphony ever to have performed there. If true, not only was it long over due, but I hope we can make it a more regular component of our yearly schedule--the people there really were terrific and welcoming! The weekend's weather was gorgeous and I was most impressed how smoothly everything worked out logistically. Bussing an orchestra and their instruments to an unfamiliar stage is but a small portion of an endless list of detail to conquer.

A few days later, we reprised the concert in Cedar Rapids. It was our first Thursday night performance since I've been here. Due to scheduling conflicts, Thursday was the only option available to us, so we decided to experiment and see if audiences would enjoy a weekday performance and at the same time launched our new "Generation O" events designed for young professionals and first- timers to sample the symphony orchestra. We're still studying feedback to determine whether the occasional Thursday concert might be a direction for us in the future. As I'm writing this blog, we perform the program for the final time on Sunday (Nov. 15) at the Englert Theater in Iowa City. As the Englert and the Elkader Opera House are similar in design and size, this concert was programmed specifically with that in mind--the orchestra fits perfectly on the stages, the music is gratifying for the musicians and charming for the audience. Throw in "Sight & Sound" and the re-launching of our chamber music series amongst all of what has recently transpired, and you have a pretty busy month. Looking back at it all, this was an amazing jigsaw puzzle that was put together with admirable skill and precision. It's been another good month.

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