Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony

Join us for our 2013-14 season!

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:28:28 -0500

Join us for our 2013-14 season!:

From our first-ever performances at the new Riverloop Amphitheater and recently restored Brown Derby Ballroom in Waterloo, to orchestral landmarks like Bolero, New World Symphony, Mahler 1 and Sheherazade, to our signature theatrical presentations in the Great Hall at GBPAC, every one of our 2013-14 event abounds in excitement, delight and surprise! Click through the link above for more on Iowa’s most exciting symphonic experiences and for information on ordering season packages. Single tickets go on sale August 1.

Congratulations, Jason!

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:32:16 -0500

This year we are even more grateful than usual for the leadership of our maestro, Jason Weinberger. The current season marks his 10th anniversary with us, first as Music Director and now in an expanded role as Artistic Director & CEO. Over the past decade we have grown to an unprecedented level of artistic excellence through collaborations with today’s most dynamic young artists and creative presentations that reinvent the symphonic experience. Jason’s commitment to innovation has brought favorite masterpieces to life in fresh ways and exposed us to intriguing and rarely performed compositions by living composers.

Jason gives us the power and passion of symphonic music. We hope you will consider giving back in celebration of his work here in our community. Join us in our Ten for 10 campaign with a donation of $10 (or more!) in Jason’s honor.

Click here to give online, or visit our Support page for instructions on how to donate by mail or in person. Thank you!

Concert day treat from Jason’s blog: Dress rehearsal for...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:12:00 -0500

Concert day treat from Jason’s blog:

Dress rehearsal for tonight’s epic performance of the Planets at wcfsymphony, featuring the world premiere of a thrilling multimedia presentation by celebrated illustrator Gary Kelley.

People, trust us - you do not want to miss this event!

(Photos are by our good friend Noah Henscheid)

Our latest short film explores Holst’s Planets through the...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:41:00 -0500

Our latest short film explores Holst’s Planets through the eyes, ears and hands of world famous illustrator Gary Kelley. We are certain that once you see it you won’t want to miss our performance of Gary’s deeply creative and powerful reimagination of the Planets this Saturday.

Behind the scenes at Gary Kelley’s studio on historic Main...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:09:00 -0500

Behind the scenes at Gary Kelley’s studio on historic Main Street in Cedar Falls, including works in progress for this weekend’s remarkable interpretation of Holst’s Planets.

On April 27 we debut our imaginative new presentation of...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0500

On April 27 we debut our imaginative new presentation of Holst’s Planets, featuring a cinema-scale film of world premiere artwork by Gary Kelley. The do-not-miss Cedar Valley arts event of the year!

Student artwork has been pouring into our office the past few...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:22:00 -0500

Student artwork has been pouring into our office the past few weeks, the fruit of a season-long collaborative art and music project with northeast Iowa elementary school art teachers and artist Gary Kelley. Gary, whose own evocative artwork for Holst’s Planets will be featured on our youth concerts on Tuesday (and again for general audiences later this month), visited local elementary school classrooms this winter with Jason to discuss connections between listening and seeing. Thousands of students at those and other area schools then embarked on a project to create their own visual responses to The Planets. Among the standouts are the creations pictured above, which will be screened alongside Tuesday’s performances of Jupiter.

Bravo to all of our partners for making this inspiring endeavor such a huge success!

Our intrepid maestro dug up a fascinating resource on the...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:12:07 -0500

Our intrepid maestro dug up a fascinating resource on the Brandenburg Concertos, the first of which is pictured above and featured on our Bach at Easter concert this weekend:

The last time I performed the Brandenburg Concertos I posted what was at time the only freely-available digitized version of the autograph manuscript for one of them. Now a facsimile of all six pieces in Bach’s hand is available for download at – where else? – the invaluable IMSLP. Good for many hours of wonderment.

Join us on Saturday for more wonderment over Bach’s incredible music!

Musician Spotlight • Randy Grabowski, Trumpet Hero

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:23:00 -0500

Our latest Musician Spotlight focuses on UNI Professor of Trumpet and all-around trumpet hero Randy Grabowksi. Randy has been Principal Trumpet of the WCFSO since 1986 and during that time he has delivered many of the symphonic repertoire’s heaviest trumpet solos – including this recent Mahler 5 – with aplomb. Randy will be featured again this weekend in several glorious baroque trumpet solos by Bach. Below are some of Randy’s reflections on his life as a professional brass player and teacher.

• My father, who had been a big band trumpeter in Illinois back in the day, started me on the cornet when I was pretty young. I was strongly encouraged to practice and get a good education in order to avoid working in a factory, as had happened to him.

• A typical work week for me consists of a morning warm-up then a day of teaching private trumpet lessons at UNI. I may also teach a class and attend committee meetings followed by more practicing in the late afternoon. Most evenings are spent playing a concert or rehearsal, practicing, or attending a concert.

• There is a fair amount of preparation involved as principal trumpet to be comfortable at the first rehearsal. In addition to practice, I listen to recordings, communicate with the section in advance, and make decisions on the type of trumpet and mute to use.

• The more I’m involved in the business of music, the more I realize the importance of camaraderie and collegiality in the art of making music. With the WCFSO, I can be involved in creating music with people I know and trust, and with whom I enjoy working on a regular basis. I feel like I can make a difference here – not all organizations make you feel like you matter.

• As a teacher, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the job is getting to know the students and watching them grow. As a professional performer, it’s the constant variety of music that I play – solo recital, orchestral or chamber music, big band jazz, a show with a celebrity artist - that keeps it all fresh.

• As a professional musician in the 21st century the biggest challenge may be convincing people to attend live music events. In this day of digital media it’s so important for people to put away their electronic devices and spend some quality time listening to music with other humans. And as a professional I most value being able to create music with my own sense of sound, musicianship and passion, and being able to throw it out there for any one to listen to.

• One of my most memorable performance experiences was playing in a school that included children who were deaf. Many of these kids came up close so that they could sense the music, while others actually placed their hands on the bell in order to feel the vibrations. The look of pleasure on their faces and the feeling that I really made a difference in their lives that day was something one doesn’t easily forget.

• Outside of my professional life I have an amazing wife, Karen, with whom I enjoy doing just about everything. I like to cook, read, hike, and I love the mountains!

We know Randy doesn’t get much mountain time here in Iowa so we always cut him loose in the summer to find some altitude in other spots around country!

Easter Sunday may be behind us, but seasonal celebrations...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:38:00 -0500

Easter Sunday may be behind us, but seasonal celebrations continue in Iowa this week with a delightful concert of springtime music by Bach. Among the highlights of Saturday’s program is this virtuosic concertato sinfonia from BWV 42, one of a series of instrumental works we’ve culled for the occasion from his Easter cantatas [delivered here with great style by Richard Egarr and the Academy of Ancient Music].

Curious about to what to expect from our locally-sourced March 2...

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 08:13:31 -0600

Curious about to what to expect from our locally-sourced March 2 concert? Here’s a preview highlighting the contributions of our special guests, Iowa explorers Bill Will and Scott Cawelti.

Jason has been hard at work with Bill Witt choosing and...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:43:00 -0600

Jason has been hard at work with Bill Witt choosing and formatting photos for use in this weekend’s Landscape Iowa presentation, including these:

Stunning portraits of native Iowa plant life by Cedar Falls resident and plains photographer Bill Witt. Several of these images are featured on Saturday’s mixed media Landscape Iowa performance, as well as in Bill’s delightful photobook Enchanted by Prairie.

Stunning, indeed!

An intriguing glimpse of the visual and physical language...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:52:00 -0600

An intriguing glimpse of the visual and physical language associated with Samuel Barber’s Medea, featured this Saturday:

Isamu Noguchi – Serpent and Spider Dress for Martha Graham

From Cave of the Heart, a 1946 production based on the Medea story and set to music by Samuel Barber. Like Appalachian Spring – premiered two years earlier by Graham’s company and also featuring sets by Noguchi – Cave of the Heart was originally scored for small mixed ensemble. Barber provided two subsequent orchestral arrangements of his Medea music, the more extensive of which I’ll be performing this weekend with WCFSO.

A unique story about the creation of a new piece of music,...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:52:54 -0600

A unique story about the creation of a new piece of music, featuring the inspiration and talents of our very own Hunter Capoccioni. Do not miss Saturday’s “homecoming” of the remarkable work he helped commission from American master John Harbison.

Celebrate Mozart’s birthday today with a listen to our...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 15:46:09 -0600

Celebrate Mozart’s birthday today with a listen to our performance of the sublime Adagio from his Clarinet Concerto, with Jason leading from the solo spot.

Over the past decade we have performed Wolfgang’s music more than that of any other composer, and he’s back on again this weekend in a rare performance of instrumental music from his late opera La Clemenza di Tito.

Our second Lollipop concert of the season takes place this...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:46:00 -0600

Our second Lollipop concert of the season takes place this coming Saturday, December 1 at 10:00 am at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. Holiday Bells! features the virtuoso ringing of handbell soloist Aaron Hansen, and is free to audiences of all ages. If you are new to our Lollipop concerts you can expect the same fun and relaxed experience that has delighted children and their families for over 30 years.

The instrument petting zoo will also be out for this performance, as it is for most of our youth events. You can hear it in full roar above, recorded by Jason earlier this year at the Cedar Falls Community Center (his two-year-old is banging away on the percussion somewhere in there).

We’re getting excited for this week’s collaboration...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:20:00 -0600

We’re getting excited for this week’s collaboration with the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, American Songs. The performance, featuring music inspired by American jazz and blues of the nineteen-teens and -twenties, takes place at the historic Elks Lodge 290 in downtown Waterloo (built in 1924 and pictured above in a vintage postcard from the period).

The concert is sold out but we are keeping a waiting a list for any seats that come open. Give us a buzz at 319.273.3373 or add yourself to the list here.

"Jason Weinberger has built a reputation over the last 10 years for raising the excitement level with..."

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 06:00:00 -0500

“Jason Weinberger has built a reputation over the last 10 years for raising the excitement level with live performances that are a bit outside the box … Innovative programming, inventive collaborations and interesting, sometimes surprising twists make each concert a musical adventure.”

- Melody Parker of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier offers a wonderful look at our singular programming style. This season we are marking Jason’s decade of leadership with a series of truly unique collaborations highlighting local artists and institutions. After reading Melody’s take on these “experiences of a different order” you may just want to grab tickets.

This guy! This weekend! Join us on Saturday night for...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:15:00 -0500

This guy! This weekend!

Join us on Saturday night for Tchaikovsky’s breathtaking First Piano Concerto with soloist Dror Biran. Dror and Artistic Director Jason Weinberger will briefly illuminate the concerto’s folk music roots and musical structure from the stage prior to performing it with the orchestra. Also featured are two equally ravishing works inspired by folk music, including Kodály’s dramatic and colorful transformation of a Hungarian folk song in his ‘Peacock’ Variations.

(Portrait of Tchaikovsky by Nikolai Kuznetsov from the final year of the composer’s life.)

Spotlight • Greg Morton, Bassoon Wizard

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 13:42:00 -0500

The first in our new series of musician, staff and board spotlights focuses on one of our favorite low double reed people, WCFSO Principal Bassoonist Greg Morton. Greg lives in Cedar Rapids and also plays with Orchestra Iowa, and has performed with the Des Moines and Quad City Orchestras, the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra. He’s currently on the faculties of Coe, Wartburg, and Hawkeye Community Colleges, teaching bassoon, saxophone, and oboe, and has a private studio of 30 students. That’s a ton of reed students!

Greg recently took time from his busy schedule to talk a bit more about himself to WCFSO Board Member Lorelei Heisinger for our September/October program book.

• By eighth grade I knew my career would have something to do with music. I wasn’t certain what form that would take until I was a senior, graduating from college with a degree in Education, and discovered that I didn’t like teaching high school! I went on to study and teach in Oregon, North Texas, Louisiana and Chicago and ended up in Iowa to work on my Doctorate, and somehow never left. I had inspiring teachers along the way, but there was no single teacher who sparked that desire to make a life in music. I just knew, early on, that music would be a vocation.

• I made the right decision to play the bassoon, for all the wrong reasons! I started out playing saxophone, but thought I would give the bassoon a try for fun. I was awful – I couldn’t play my way out of a wet paper bag open at both ends. When I learned that sax majors also had to take two years of clarinet, I opted to major in bassoon in an attempt to avoid that requirement. I ended up taking just about that much clarinet anyway over the years, but I love playing the bassoon and have never been sorry I chose it.

• There is something wonderful about being onstage with a group of musicians playing. There is a camaraderie and common purpose that brings you closer, even if you do not know every musician personally. There have been performances so intense that the hair on your arm rises. Performing is simply so different than anything else.

• The WCFSO is so inviting. WCFSO staff makes the experience so gratifying, as do my fellow musicians. It is very warm and welcoming here. It is a pleasure to work with people who care about the symphony and are invested in the organization. Their work is not just a job; it is their personal orchestra.

• I think chamber music can be an opportunity for growth and a great way to bring music to people. We have very interesting programming for the WCFSO, but chamber music can engage the musicians on stage in a way which is personal and which allows the music to touch the audience in new and different ways.

• I enjoy teaching and the interaction with my students, who range in age from 6th grade to their 60’s. All of them are interesting individuals, and each brings uniqueness to my studio and my life. I feel that I am not just teaching my students how to play an instrument. For some of my younger students, my lessons with them are an opportunity to have one on one interaction with an adult (other than their parents) whose focus is solely on them.

• My passions other than music are reading, and composing and arranging. I would like to pursue stained glass making again, when I have time!

Based on his work and achievements we assume Greg hasn’t had time for stained glass in a while. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and the University of Iowa and earned a Performance Certificate at Northwestern University. He previously served on the faculty at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, the faculty of Lutheran Summer Music and Iowa All-State, and has participated in the Great Music West Festival. Of his original compositions and over 40 arrangements, several have been recorded for a series of - you guessed it - WIZARDS! albums. We love Greg!