Clinton Symphony Orchestra opens its 69th concert season on Saturday, October 1, 2022, with the first Iowa performance of orchestral music from Jennifer Higdon’s award-winning opera Cold Mountain. A group of orchestras from across the Country commissioned the work. The Clinton concert is actually its second performance, following a Delaware Symphony performance last week.
Clinton’s concert is at 7:30 p.m., in Clinton High School’s Vernon Cook Theater. Brian Dollinger begins his 15th season as Conductor of the orchestra. Tickets are available at the door, with adult admission of $20. All students are admitted free of charge, and the adult brought by a student is admitted for half-price. Season tickets for the six-concert season also are available at the door for $90–a 25% savings.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Construction projects at Clinton High School have closed an entrance and a parking area to the theater that had been used for years. Parking is now available on the north side of 8th Avenue South. Entrance to the building is through door A2. In addition, the U. S. Route 30 bridge across the Mississippi River is closed for maintenance. Concert-goers from Illinois must use the north bridge through Fulton, IL.
Another near-premiere on the program is a Rhapsody for Violin and Strings by American composer David Stern. The piece has evolved in many forms, including a string quartet, but was performed recently by the Muscatine[, IA,] Symphony in its orchestra form, led by Maestro Dollinger.
The third selection on the program is the Symphony No. 1 in C minor by Johannes Brahms. It took Brahms many years to finally produce a full symphony in the wake of the legendary works of his predecessor, Beethoven. The Brahms piece has proven to be every bit a worthy successor.
Full program notes for the music on the concert are posted on the Symphony’s website at www.clintonsymphony.org.