Same symphony orchestra, different location: SEISO continues performing

MT. PLEASANT — With two Masterworks Concert Series performances coming to Mt. Pleasant in the next two months, Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra continues to provide Southeast Iowa will an opportunity to experience and learn about music not otherwise readily available in rural areas.

SEISO Mt. Pleasant Chapter President Marcia Kentner thanks the community for their continued support of the orchestra’s Masterworks Concert Series, Kidsymphony, Hollydaze performances, and their education outreach initiatives, especially in light of changes due to the closure of Iowa Wesleyan University.

“As you may know, the Mt. Pleasant Community School District has acquired the ‘central campus’ of Iowa Wesleyan, which includes the Chapel,” Kentner wrote in a letter to supporters of SEISO. “Positive talks are underway with the school district regarding use of the chapel for orchestra performances for the 2024-25 and subsequent seasons.”

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Prior to the university’s closure, SEISO partnered with the educational institution and played a majority of their Mt. Pleasant concerts in the Iowa Wesleyan Chapel. Following the closure, SEISO returned to the IW Chapel for a short time in October 2023 before abruptly finding they needed to find a new venue the day of their Kidsymphony concert due to “mechanical problems.”

According to previous Mt. Pleasant Community School District board meetings, upon inspection, the district found the chapel needed work for a broken truss, roof fascia, soffit, gutters, and downspouts.

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Thankfully, the SEISO found a last minute venue at the First United Methodist Church in Mt. Pleasant. While they await a hopeful return to the venue they called home for several decades, they will continue to perform their next two concerts at the Methodist church located on North Main Street.

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These next two Masterworks Concert series performances will consist of Tales of the Symphony on Sunday, March 24 and The 20th Century Titans on Sunday, April 28, both at 6:30 p.m.

According to SEISO, Tales of the Symphony concert will consist of “a dazzling opening overture, 2023 Young Artist Competition Winner Renee Blunier on Oboe, a lush and beautiful guitar concerto featuring W. Mark Akin, and one of the world’s most beloved orchestral works.”

Musical selections for the Tales of the Symphony concert Include W.A. Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro: Overture, Benedetto Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in C Minor performed by Renee Blunier, oboe, Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, performed by W. Mark Akin, guitar, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

SEISO describes The 20th Century Titans performance as one that will feature Venezuelan Violinist Magdiell Antequera presenting “a SEISO premier of a unique lesser known gem from Bernstein, followed by one of the world’s greatest symphonies written under the weight of the Stalin regime’s criticisms.”

Musical works for this concert will include Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade (After Plato’s “Symposium”), performed by 2024 Artist in Residence Magdiell Antequera, Violin, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.

For both events, adult tickets cost $20 and all kids and student entry is free as SEISO continues to focus on education and bringing music to the rural communities of Southeast Iowa. Tickets are available for purchase at the door of the events or online at seiso.us/upcomingperformances

Kentner encourages season ticket holders to bring friends with them to these concerts as they continue to support SEISO’s music in Mt. Pleasant.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com