Special to the Daily

If the weekends in Ames are starting to drag, maybe a trip to Des Moines for a cultural experience is the answer. The Des Moines Symphony will present a concert of Scandinavian music this weekend at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines.

The concert will feature flute soloist, Marina Piccinini, a 1989 Musical America magazine “Young Artist to Watch.” Piccinini is also the only flutist to be awarded Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant which “recognizes excellence in young and upcoming artists,” said Paul Zastrow, public relations and marketing director of the Des Moines Symphony.

Piccinini is a Juilliard graduate who has earned an international reputation for her virtuosity, presence and range of tonal colors, according to a press release. Already appearing with most major Canadian orchestras, Piccinini is now performing with several American orchestras including Phoenix, Syracuse, Spokane and Charlotte.

The New York Times noted Piccinini for her “impressive and beautifully regulated power” and was named resident artist for WQXR, the radio station of The New York Times, according to a press release.

Piccinini will also be presenting a free flute master class tonight at 7 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium of Old Main on the Drake University campus. The class is open to the public and is directed toward flute students at a middle school age or older, Zastrow said.

Zastrow added, “We got a fantastic response” from the concert, and that the Scandinavian festival beforehand was already “overbooked.” This is the third world premiere the symphony has had in three years, and this time it features the music of Minnesota composer Libby Larsen.

This is the last of four works by Libby Larsen commissioned by the Des Moines Symphony through a project to solicit and perform works by contemporary local, regional and national composers.

Zastrow said that in May the Sesquicentennial Celebration would feature the world premiere of work by Grinnell professor Jonathan Chenette and poetry from and about Iowa.

The ticket prices range from $10.50 to $28.50 and are available through the Civic Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

The concert will be at 8 p.m. Saturday and at 3 p.m. at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines.

Tickets are $5 for students on the day of the performance after noon with a current student ID, but only at the Civic Center Box Office. Zastrow expects that the concert will run just short of two hours.