Following the end of the Ames Municipal Band’s summer concert series, a new group will occupy Ames’ Durham Bandshell for a night of music. 

The Central Iowa Symphony will host a concert at Bandshell Park tonight. The concert will commence at 8 p.m. and is scheduled until 10. The event is free to the public. Attendees will need to provide their own chairs or blankets for seating. 

Conducting the concert is Eric L. McIntyre; McIntyre serves as a professor and department chair of music at Grinnell College and directs the Grinnell Symphony Orchestra. 

The event comes exactly one week after the end of the Ames Municipal Band’s summer concert series. The series employed the help of not only the municipal band but a variety of local musicians as well. The event also offered fundraising opportunities. Tonight’s concert will feature music from a robust brass, string and percussion section. Consisting of roughly 50 members per show, the symphony provides a family-friendly event that also helps foster people’s musical abilities.

“CIS is made up of musicians from throughout the community who are united by a love of music and dedication to the art of orchestral performance,” McIntyre said. “The orchestra also works in collaboration with a vast array of performers from our region. In the last ten years, we have given performances featuring over 40 different soloists, three choirs, a dance ensemble, a jazz ensemble, and two other orchestras.  We are fortunate to serve this role as an artistic nexus for our community.”

Similar to many of the community-based concerts in Ames, the Central Iowa Symphony concert will include free-will donation. Roosevelt Summer Sundays, the municipal band’s concert series and tonight’s concert all use free-will donations to raise funds to help put on future concerts. 

The Central Iowa Symphony is based in Ames and is funded through the Ames Commission on the Arts. The symphony is also part of the Ames Community Arts Council. 

A full setlist is provided below:

Salute to the Big Apple | Calvin Custer

Serenata | Leroy Anderson

Nola | Felix Arndt

Sophisticated Lady | Duke Ellington, arranged by Sopkin

The Entertainer | Scott Joplin, arranged by Cacavas

Porgy and Bess Highlight| G. Gershwin, arranged by Bourdon

“Told at Sunset,” Woodland Sketches | MacDowell, arranged by Woodhouse

St. Louis Blues | W.C. Handy, arranged by Holcombe

Variations on a Shaker Melody | Aaron Copland

The Stars and Stripes Forever | John Philip Sousa