On Thursdaynight, the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Iowa played a all-Russian concert in the auditorium of Blaine High School.

The first composition presented by the 70 young musicians was Shostrakovitch’s Symphony No.9. It consists of five movements, which show a variety of tempos and levels of sound. Heidi Klett, one of the violinists said: “There was a lot of emotion.”

For the second piece, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the symphony orchestra got supported by Ksenia Nosikova, who is professor of piano at the University of Iowa. She also has performed extensively as a solo pianist and chamber musician worldwide.

The last composition of the evening was Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. For this very popular composition, some selected students of Blaine High School joined the symphony orchestra. At the final, loud speakers produced a synthetic noise for the cannon shots, which are part of the piece. “The stage was vibrating. It was really surprising because we never heard the cannons during the rehearsals”, said Therese Slatter, a member of the orchestra.

The event at Blaine High School is part of a concert journey. There will only be a few more concerts, for example at Edina High School.

After the concert, there was a reception with punch and cookies. It was a nice opportunity for the audience and the musicians have conversations with each other.