Clinton Symphony Orchestra to open 71st season Sept. 21

CLINTON, Iowa – The Clinton Symphony Orchestra will open its 71st concert season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, with a performance at Zion Lutheran Church in Clinton.

Conductor and music director Brian Dollinger will begin his 18th year leading the orchestra.

The concert is at Zion Lutheran Church because of construction at Clinton High School, where the orchestra usually performs. A return to CHS is expected in April 2025 upon completion of the new Durgin Performing Arts Center.

“Beethoven and Friends” is the theme of the new season. Beethoven’s First Symphony will highlight the first concert, which also includes an opera overture from the same era by French composer Etienne Nicolas Mehul, a leading composer in the Paris Opera-Comique during the French revolution and empire. He was a favorite of Napoleon.

To complete the program, Dollinger has chosen a Concerto Grosso by Swiss-American composer Ernest Bloch. It will be performed by the string section with piano obbligato.

“Twenty years ago, Clinton Symphony performed many of its concerts at Zion Lutheran Church,” Executive Director Robert Whipple said. “We feel very welcome returning to the site and I’m sure listeners will appreciate the hospitality and the excellent acoustics.”

Tickets are available at the door on the night of the concert. Adult admission is $20. All students are admitted free. Season tickets for all six concerts are available for $90, a 25% savings over individual ticket prices. In a promotion encouraging students to attend concerts, the symphony offers a special $10 ticket to an adult who accompanies a student to the concert.

More information and program notes for the composers and music are on the symphony’s website, www.clintonsymphony.org.