On April 15 Antonín Dvořák returned to northern Iowa. Over 4,000 Cedar Valley elementary school students attended the WCFSO Youth Concerts and experienced much of the same music the composer himself performed on his visit to our area 115 years ago. Nathan Friend, a junior at Ogden High School and winner of our 2008 Young Artist Concerto Competition, was featured. This photoset by Noah Henscheid features images of my visit to Edison School as well as views from the concert itself.
Music education and community engagement are two of my top priorities as music director of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony. In general, I believe that efforts in these areas define the future of symphonic music in this country.
In advance of the 2008 WCFSO Youth Concerts I visited Edison School in Waterloo [with whom the symphony is a Partner-in-Education] and a diverse group of eleven other elementary schools in the Cedar Valley. Fourth and fifth grade students learned the basics of the orchestra, tried out their conducting moves, and then considered the history and significance of Antonín Dvořák’s visit to America and his stay in nearby Spillville, Iowa. Click on the image above to see my visit to Edison and read more about this year’s ‘Home & Away’ Youth Concerts.
