The Wartburg Community Symphony has received a $10,000 Iowa Arts Council Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority in support of its December concert, Christmas Fairy Tales.

The performance, which begins at 2 p.m. Dec. 9, will feature a Wartburg Opera Workshop performance of “Hansel and Gretel,” a fairy tale opera first performed at Christmastime in Weimar, Germany, 130 years ago. Tickets are $20 for adults; K-12 and Wartburg students are free. The cast will include several fifth- and sixth-grade students from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church & School.

“This is first time the Wartburg Community Symphony has received an Iowa Arts Council Grant, and we are so excited about the ways it will allow us to live out our mission and connect with the community,” said Rebecca Nederhiser, symphony conductor.

The grant will allow the symphony and Opera Workshop to extend educational platforms to the community through several outreach initiatives. This includes site visits to local schools and retirement homes in addition to collaborations on campus. Wartburg’s Vogel Library will partner with the Waverly Public Library to host Cookies with the Cast on Nov. 22 at Vogel Library. The event will include an instrument petting zoo, a reading of “Hansel and Gretel” and gingerbread ornament painting.

Some of the grant money also will be used to offset the cost of staging and costumes.

“Programs like ours sometimes require years to develop the funds for a production like this. I am excited to be able to collaborate with Dr. Nederhiser on this production. The fact that it is the 130th anniversary of the premiere of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ is just icing on the cake,” said Brian Pfaltzgraff, associate professor of music and Opera Workshop director.

Support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council, which exists within the Iowa Economic Development Authority.