Concerts are at Ames City Auditorium (520 6th St., Ames, IA 50010) unless otherwise noted.
October 4, 2025 – 7:30 PM
Meditations and Celebrations
Ames City Auditorium
520 6th St. Ames, IA 50010
Concert Conversations with Eric McIntyre at 6:45 PM
Featuring Acacia Scott, harp
Our season opens with a cornucopia of colorful music, from the contemplative to the exuberant. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s orchestral version of a vigorous Haitian dance is contrasted with Frederick Delius’s soothing Two Aquarelles, which is likewise perfectly paired with the Iowa premiere of Judith Weir’s Still, Glowing. Acacia Scott sparkles as featured soloist on an instrument we rarely see at the front of the orchestra in Glière’s Harp Concerto, and the whole program is brought to a thrilling conclusion with Rossini’s well-loved William Tell Overture.
Coleridge-Taylor – The Bamboula
Glière – Concerto for Harp in E-Flat
Weir – Still, Glowing
Delius – Two Aquarelles
Rossini – Overture to William Tell
December 6, 2025 – 7:30 PM
Strumming in the Season
Ames City Auditorium
520 6th St. Ames, IA 50010
Concert Conversations with Eric McIntyre at 6:45 PM
Featuring Alex Aldridge, guitar
Herald in the holidays with music, and welcome yet another rarely-seen solo instrument to the front of the orchestra as guitarist, Alex Aldridge, brings Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s effervescent first Guitar Concerto to life in a display of shining virtuosity. The balance of the program features various classical takes on Christmas music, including an endearing work by Arnold Schoenberg and Alfred Reed’s stirring Russian Christmas Music.
Nicolai – Christmas Overture
Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Concerto for Guitar No. 1 in D
Schoenberg – Weihnachtsmusik
Reed – Russian Christmas Music
March 1, 2026 – 3:00 PM: Young Artists Concert
Ames City Auditorium | 520 6th St. Ames, IA 50010
Concert Conversations with Eric McIntyre at 2:15 PM
Featuring our January Young Artists Competition Winners
This season’s Young Artists concert is an unforgettable display of budding young talent. Not only will we celebrate the remarkable skills of our Young Artists competition winners, but we will also join forces with the Gilbert High School Choir for a collaborative performance of Mozart’s powerful Coronation Mass. The celebratory program launches in jubilant fashion with Shostakovich’s Festive Overture.
Shostakovich – Festive Overture
W.A. Mozart – Coronation Mass
May 2, 2026 – 7:30 PM: Fireworks Fiesta
Ames City Auditorium | 520 6th St. Ames, IA 50010
Concert Conversations with Eric McIntyre at 6:45 PM
Featuring Mei-Hsuan Huang, piano
Rich melodies and pyrotechnics abound as pianist Mei-Hsuan Huang performs one of the most beloved and challenging works in the repertoire, Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. This extraordinary display of virtuosity is perfectly matched with a trio of brilliant dance works by Mexican composers that bring our season to a dazzling conclusion.
Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2
Revueltas – Sensemayá
Márquez – Danzón No. 2
Moncayo – Huapango