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Clinton Symphony Orchestra will open its 71st concert season at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, September 21, 2024, with a performance at Zion Lutheran Church, 439 Third Avenue South, in Clinton, IA. Conductor and Music Director Brian Dollinger will begin his 18th year leading the orchestra.
The concert is at Zion Lutheran Church due to ongoing construction at Clinton High School, where the Orchestra usually performs. A return to CHS is anticipated in April 2025, upon completion of the new Durgin Performing Arts Center.
“Beethoven and Friends” is the general theme of the new season. Beethoven’s First Symphony will highlight this first concert, which also includes an opera overture from the same era. It was written 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 the night of the concert. Adult admission is $20, and all students are admitted free of charge. Season tickets for all six concerts will also be 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.
Full information and program notes for the composers and music are available on the Symphony’s website at www.clintonsymphony.org.