The Wartburg Community Symphony has received a $10,000 Iowa Arts Council Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority in support of its Dec. 14 concert, Nutcracker Reimagined.

The concert will feature Duke Ellington’s arrangement of “The Nutcracker,” with projections from Don Tate, a former Iowan who illustrated “Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite” by Anna Harwell Celenza. During the 1960s, Ellington collaborated with jazz composer Billy Strayhorn to create a shorter suite from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1892 ballet. The Wartburg Community Symphony will perform a fully orchestrated version of that arrangement by Jeff Tyzik.  

Also featured will be selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” and original jazz arrangements and performances from the Iowa Bop Collective.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Iowa Arts Council for their continued support. This concert is serendipitous as it also aligns with the 125^th anniversary of Duke Ellington’s birth,” said Rebecca Nederhiser, symphony conductor. “The WCS is thrilled to welcome back the Iowa Bop Collective, alongside artist Don Tate, whose dynamic illustrations will be projected during the concert. We hope everyone can come and experience the magic of the season with us.”

The grant, which is the symphony’s second in as many years, will allow the organization to host community outreach events prior to the concert, including a partnership with the Waverly Public Library where youth can decorate nutcracker ornaments, meet Tate and learn about the jazz influences on Ellington’s version of the “The Nutcracker.” Additional outreach events will be announced closer to the concert date.

“We are so excited to partner with the WCS again this year after two very successful events last year. Both parties really benefit from these collaborations,” said Emily McClimon, youth services librarian at the Waverly Public Library. “Each organization brings their own assets to the table and increases each other’s visibility, which ultimately equates to more community members, especially our youth, who get to participate in unique cultural, literary and musical events.”

Tate also will join Nederhiser at 1 p.m. Dec. 14 for a conversation in Neumann Auditorium. Tickets for the 2 p.m. show are $20 for adults; K-12 and Wartburg students are free.

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