Orchestra Iowa

Welcome to Friendly Face Fridays! Each Friday we are sharing one of our amazing musicians, so you'll always be able to find a Friendly Face in the orchestra.

Meet Jeanette Welch, Bass.

Jeanette Welch first moved to Iowa City in 1996. She received her BA in music from the University of California, San Diego, and her MA in music from the University of Iowa. She performs regularly with Orchestra Iowa, WCF Symphony, the Iowa Women’s Jazz Orchestra, and the rock band Fork in the Road.

She teaches bass at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, and the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City. In her spare time she enjoys hiking and traveling.

Orchestra Iowa is back on the Brucemore lawn for the first time since 2021 to celebrate America’s 250th birthday! Don't miss your shot at VIP tickets with Morgan.

Listen for the all this week between 3-7 pm and text it to 319-200-1029. 🇺🇸

Welcome to Friendly Face Fridays! Each Friday we are sharing one of our amazing musicians, so you'll always be able to find a Friendly Face in the orchestra.

Meet Cameron Slaugh, Cello.

Cameron Slaugh (they/them) is a cellist based in the Chicago area. In addition to being a member of Orchestra Iowa, they are principal of the Missouri Symphony, assistant principal of the West Michigan Symphony, and were a regular member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. They have made appearances across the United States and Italy, sharing the stage with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, Hilary Hahn, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Indigo Girls, and more.

An avid performer of modern music, Cameron has had the opportunity to work closely with composers Jessie Montgomery and Osvaldo Golijov as part of CSO Music Now, Chicago Symphony’s new-music series.

Passionate about teaching, Cameron is one of the founding teaching artists of the Apollo’s Fire “Side by Side” program. Launched in November 2021, the program brought beginner strings education to the Matteson School District, located in a southside suburb of Chicago. Cameron has also served as a mentor in collaboration with the Civic Orchestra and Chicago Public Schools.

Cameron has finally outgrown the 1/10th size cello on which they started and now plays a 2016 William Whedbee cello that is also from Chicago.

Just over a month to go until the return of Orchestra Iowa's Brucemorchestra! Do you have your tickets yet?

Get them here: https://orchestraiowa.org/event/brucemorchestra-2026/

*17 and under get FREE tickets with the purchase of an adult ticket thanks to the Grandon Charitable Foundation. Free tickets must be reserved by calling the box office at 319-366-8203

Want more from your Brucemorchestra evening? Join us for the Opening Night Reception. Enjoy food, drinks, and music before the big event.

https://orchestraiowa.org/event/brucemorchestra-opening-night-reception/

Special Thanks to our Presenting Sponsors Leland and Peggy Smithson.

Welcome to Friendly Face Fridays! Each Friday we are sharing one of our amazing musicians, so you'll always be able to find a Friendly Face in the orchestra.

Meet Lucas Blekeberg, Viola.

Multifaceted performer-creator-collaborator Lucas Blekeberg explores music traditions and innovates between them. His string playing, singing, composition, and improvisation spans progressive and traditional folk and roots idioms to concert music, popular music, and beyond.

A traveling musician-for-hire (fiddler-violinist, violist, singer, and mandolinist) now based in Eastern Iowa, Lucas collaborates as a member and guest with a myriad of bands and artists on stages and in studios. His work can be heard on an album recipient of a Juno Award and Polaris Music Prize. Lucas also performs as a singer-songwriter and one-man band. His EP is in the works.

Passionate as a quartet violist, he’s worked in chamber ensembles together with principal players of major European and North American orchestras, having performed across Canada, Denmark, and the United States.

In the orchestral sphere, engagement highlights have been with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. Currently appointed with Omaha Symphony and a member of Orchestra Iowa and Des Moines Symphony, he’s formerly Principal Violist of Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra and Associate Principal Violist of Sioux City Symphony Orchestra.

An explorer of music, nature, and imagination, Lucas enjoys making connections and art wherever he goes. Catch his projects and hear his creations on his artist page, facebook.com/LucasBlekeberg.

Today, the students in our summer program had the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt at ! As part of our first week spent on the Music theme, the children were given tickets for admission, and passports containing the items they needed to find. Our generous hosts guided us through each part of the building, from concert hall to library! The experience was playful, informative, and, most importantly: Fun! CVMS greatly enjoyed our time with our neighbors today! Thank you so much for having us, Orchestra Iowa!

It looks like our online ticketing system is back up and running.

You should now be able to purchase tickets online to Orchestra Iowa, Opus Concert Café, and Paramount Theatre - Cedar Rapids

⚠️We are currently experiencing issues with our online ticketing system⚠️

We are working hard to fix the problem and get online ticket sales back up and running. While this is happening, you may still order tickets by phone at 319-366-8203 or by stopping into the box office.

This outage is also affecting ONLINE ticket sales for Opus Concert Café and Paramount Theatre - Cedar Rapids

No website launch is ever perfect, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

SURPRISE! We've updated our website!

Things might look a little different, but we promise everything you know and love about Orchestra Iowa is now right at your fingertips.

What's new?
📲 Mobile Friendly! 📲
📍Easily navigate to where you want to go, no more having to dig through pages📍
⚡Quickly switch between Orchestra Iowa, Opus Concert Café, and Paramount events. ⚡
💻Improved accessibility for screen readers.💻
🤩Find Events, Meet the Musicians, and Get Involved right from the home page. 🤩

Check it out!

https://www.orchestraiowa.org

Thanks to J.W.Morton for all their hard work helping us launch the new website!