The Wartburg Community Symphony will conclude its 2025-26 “American Tapestries” season Saturday, April 18, by celebrating the Czech composer who defined the voice of American classical music and the renowned Cedar Falls artist whose illustrations will enrich the performance.
The “Voices of the New World” concert begins at 7 p.m. in Neumann Auditorium. Tickets to the are $20 for adults and free for youth 18 and under and Wartburg College students. Tickets are available at the door or online at wartburg.edu/symphony.
The concert features a multicultural portrayal of American music in a Jack Mason arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” and Antonin Dvořák’s “New World Symphony.” Vocalist Anna Van Artsen and oboist Mikaila Sarik, who won the symphony’s annual student concerto contest, will also perform.
“It took a Czech composer to recognize the unique sounds of American music on his visit to New York and Iowa in 1893,” said Rebecca Nederhiser, symphony conductor. “We are excited to pair Dvořák’s work with projected images created by celebrated Cedar Falls illustrator Gary Kelley.”
A pre-concert talk at 6 p.m. will highlight Kelley’s fascination with Dvořák’s experiences in New York and Spillville, Iowa, and how the music of Native American and African cultures inspired the conductor. Susanna Craft, former museum coordinator at the Bily Clocks Museum, will provide insights into Dvořák’s summer in Northeast Iowa.
“A number of Kelley’s works will be on display in the lobby, and copies of our concert poster, which features a Kelley illustration, will be available for purchase,” Nederhiser added.
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