Tune in to Iowa Public Radio Classical as you pack the van for this summer’s music festival offerings. Arts events featured on this month’s Iowa Arts Showcase include:
- Nordic Fest, with Martha Griesheimer and Randy Schissel
- Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, with Hunter Cappoccioni
- University of Iowa Summer Opera’s production of “Patience,” with Nicholas Wuehrmann
- And Sleepy Bones Allison, aspiring middle school blues guitarist
Martha Griesheimer, volunteer coordinator at the Vesterheim National Norwegian-American Museum, and Randy Schissel, president of Nordic Fest, share details about Decorah’s 48th annual festival celebrating the area’s rich Scandinavian heritage. Running from July 24-26, the festival includes Scandinavian folk activities and foods, in addition to the traditional Grand Parade.
Hunter Cappoccioni, music director of the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, discusses the upcoming concerts in their festival season. This year’s series features eleven guest artists, showcasing classic favorites alongside new or rarely performed works.
Nicholas Wuehrmann, guest stage director for the University of Iowa Summer Opera, talks about their upcoming production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta Patience. A comic opera satire on the 19th century aesthetic movement, their concerts run between July 10 and 13 at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.
And eleven-year-old blues guitarist Sleepy Bones Allison stops by Studio One to perform an original composition and several blues classics. He has performed at the Chicago House of Blues, Reggie’s Rock House, the Cherokee Jazz and Blues Festival, and most recently at the College Hill Arts Festival in Cedar Falls.
Listen to July's show here, and join us on the first Saturday of the month, at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. for Iowa Public Radio’s Iowa Arts Showcase.