Orchestra Iowa and Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre Form Amazing Duet

Cedar Rapids, IA – Orchestra Iowa and the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre are pleased to announce the formation of a historic collaboration between the two organizations. Beginning January 2010, Orchestra Iowa will be the orchestra for Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre productions. Previously, the Opera Theatre contracted its own free-lance musicians.

In addition, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre conductor Daniel Kleinknecht has been named Resident Conductor of Orchestra Iowa. As resident conductor, Kleinknecht has the opportunity to occasionally conduct the Orchestra, will participate in educational activities, and is first in line to fill-in for Maestro Hankewich in the case of an emergency.

“Arts organizations across the country are being forced to explore new ways of operating,” said Robert Massey, Orchestra Iowa Executive Director. “Due to the 2008 flood, Cedar Rapids area organizations had a jump on thinking outside-the-box. Alternate venues and adaptive programming are the mainstay of artistic planning. So is collaboration, as arts organizations working together are much stronger than just the sum of their individual efforts. This partnership enhances each organization’s mission, sets a new standard for artistic collaboration, and makes a lasting mark on Eastern Iowa’s cultural landscape.”

Founded in April 1921, Orchestra Iowa is one of the oldest symphony orchestras in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. Its 82 professional musicians perform more than 120 public performances throughout Eastern Iowa each year, many of which can be heard on Iowa Public Radio and seen on Iowa Public Television.

Daniel Kleinknecht is executive director and conductor of Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre in Iowa. As founder of Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre nine years ago, he has led the company in performances of major operatic repertoire. Under his leadership the company has received five consecutive National Endowment for the Arts grants, has established a nationally-recognized Young Artist Program, and has built several endowments for the Opera Company. In this its 10th Anniversary Season, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre received an Iowa Department of Education 2008 Governor’s Volunteer Award. He is an associate professor of music at Mount Mercy College.

Kleinknecht has been a Conducting Fellow at the Aspen Music School and at Quebec’s Domaine Forget, and holds music degrees from Oberlin College, Indiana University, and The University of Iowa where he conducted performances of the OperaTheatre and the Center for New Music. He is listed in the International Who’s Who in Music, and has had articles published in the American Choral Review and the Choral Journal.