Inside Iowa State

March 10, 2006

Omaha is site for third President's Concert

by Dave Gieseke, LAS Public Relations

Two premieres and a special appearance by international opera star Simon Estes will highlight the third "President's Concert" March 26 at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. The concert begins at 3 p.m. A reception will begin at 1 p.m.

The Iowa State Singers will present the premiere of The Early Bird by composer Rene Clausen. It is a setting of a poem by Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate and 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner. Kooser is a 1962 alumnus of Iowa State and a resident of Lincoln, Neb.

In addition to the Iowa State Singers, the concert will feature performances by the ISU Wind Ensemble and the ISU Symphony Orchestra.

Estes, the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist in Residence in the music department, will appear as a soloist on two selections with the wind ensemble, Elijah and Without a Song. He also will sing King Philip's Aria from Verdi's Don Carlo with the orchestra.

The wind ensemble also will premiere A Cyclone Fanfare, written by professor of music Jeffrey Prater.

President Gregory Geoffroy and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences dean Michael Whiteford will attend the concert and reception. The Ames Children's Choir will be featured in the lobby prior to the concert.

Concert tickets are $15 and available through the Holland Performing Arts Center. A combination concert/reception ticket is $25 for ISU Alumni Association members and $30 for non-members.

On March 26 in Omaha, the Iowa State Singers will present the premiere of The Early Bird, a setting of a poem by Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate and ISU alumnus. The ISU Wind Ensemble will premiere A Cyclone Fanfare, written by professor of music Jeffrey Prater.