The SEISO returns to IW Chapel

MT. PLEASANT — The Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra will return to Mt. Pleasant this month with their first Masterworks concert set of their 73rd season.

Monday evening the symphony orchestra returned to the Iowa Wesleyan Chapel for their first rehearsal back following the closing of the University at the end of the 2023 school year.

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“We are especially thrilled to be back performing in the Iowa Wesleyan Chapel,” Music Director of the SEISO Robert McConnell said. “We would like to thank the IW board of trustees, their representatives, and everyone behind the scenes who helped make this possible.”

According to an update from SEISO over the summer, “Following the closure of Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant earlier this year, the Iowa Wesleyan board of trustees and its representatives have continued to support the SEISO.”

Between the closure and now, the board of trustees have allowed SEISO to store equipment, music library, office supplies, and archives on campus.

Returning to the chapel is like coming home for SEISO considering the organization got its start rehearsing and performing in not only Ottumwa and Burlington, but also Mt. Pleasant.

Today, the SEISO website states, “SEISO is centered at Iowa Wesleyan University and supported with boards of directors in three cities: Burlington, Mt. Pleasant, and Ottumwa. It reaches over 12,000 people every year, has over 7- board members, 100+ volunteers and more than 70 musicians.”

According to “The Symphony’s First Ten Years,” written by Robin Schweizer, the SEISO began under the direction of Dr. Oscar Butler of the Iowa Wesleyan College music department in the 1950s and rehearsals found their way to the college early in the symphony orchestra’s history.

Following Butler, Richard Lee Morse, from Cornell College’s Music Department, took over as the director and it was at this time the IWC President J. Raymon Chadwick announced the SEISO board of directors were now officially affiliated with the college.

While rehearsals initially began in Ottumwa, it was following this affiliation that they moved to Mt. Pleasant for the long haul.

So, armed with a rich history rooted in Mt. Pleasant, the SEISO is pleased to return to the IW Chapel for their first Masterworks Series in their 73rd season with Music From (Mostly) the Americas.

They will perform on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Burlington’s Capitol Theater, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. at Ottumwa’s Bridge View Center, and they will come home to Mt. Pleasant 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 to perform in the Iowa Wesleyan Chapel Auditorium.

According to a news release from SEISO, the program opens with Guiseppe Verdi’s Nabucco Overture followed by Samuel Barber’s Second Essay for orchestra and Jean Francaix’s The Flower Clock featuring Guest Artist Paul Chinen as oboe soloist.

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SEISO Conducting Fellow Jilly Cooke will conduct Jessie Montgomery’s exciting Starburst for string orchestra.

The second half of the program features William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony and the lively Huapango by Jose Pablo Moncayo Garcia.

“Our Guest Artist, oboe soloist Paul Chinen, is a wonderful player and the concert as a whole provides a great variety of pieces,” McConnell said.

To purchase tickets to the Masterworks Series concerts in Burlington, Ottumwa and Mt. Pleasant visit www.seiso.us or buy them at the door. Adult tickets are $20. Children/student tickets (aged 0-22) are free. There is no reserved seating.

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The SEISO encourages guests to make the most of their concert experience by attending the “Prelude” which begins 45 minutes before the performances and offers an in depth talk about the program with Music Director Robert McConnell.

The “Prelude” is supported through a grant from the Charles W. Rand Memorial Lecture Fund in Burlington and is offered free of charge to all audience members.

If you have questions, please contact the SEISO Office at seiso@seiso.us. More information is available on the SEISO web site at www.seiso.us.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com