Return to Roots

Name: Return to Roots
Start: 2026-03-27T19:00:00-05:00
Location: The James Theater

Schedule

Fri, 27 Mar, 2026 at 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

The James Theater | Iowa City, IA

Red Cedar Chamber Music: Return to Roots
$30 adults, $15 students
Red Cedar Chamber Music’s Directors and core ensemble, violinist Miera Kim and cellist Carey Bostian, present a duo program featuring works by Stamitz, Kodály, Kimber, and Owen.
After three years of duo programs featuring brand new compositions inspired by folk music from around the world, the core ensemble brings you this program of old and new favorites. Two of the four works on the program are by living composers, both former composers-in-residence. The program opener, Red Cedar Express by Michael Kimber, was the very first commission and world premiere by Miera Kim and Carey Bostian after becoming directors in 2016. Red Cedar’s first composer in residence, Jerry Owen, has created Love Notes, a new setting of Nota: The Lovers from his 2003 composition, Gypsy Inspirations for flute, viola, and guitar. We look forward to bringing a new-to-our-audience work in Duo Concertant by Anton Stamitz and will also return to Zoltán Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7.
Both Kimber’s Red Cedar Express and the Kodály Duo were on the core ensemble’s debut concert in the fall of 2016. The Kodály is a monumental work in the repertoire for violin and cello. In three movements, it is 30 minutes in length and takes the listener on an incredible emotional journey which bridges the gap between Hungarian folk music and the European art music tradition. Anton Stamitz and his brother Carl were both violinists and composers. Anton, born in Germany in 1750, settled in Paris and played in the King’s court orchestra at Versailles until the French Revolution. His Duo Concertant No. 5 reveals his skill as a composer but also the incredible level of string playing at the time in Paris.
After challenging our audience with music from many diverse cultural traditions and genres, we are pleased to present this much more “traditional” program. 11 performances of Return to Roots precede a MainStage performance at the James Theater in Iowa City at 7 pm on Friday, March 27.
This series of concerts is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation (Program Support Grant Fund, Linn County Grant Fund, Iva C. Robb Fund for Artistic Initiative, a Liars Theater Legacy Fund, and John A. and Elsie M. Nelson Fund), Aegon Transamerica Foundation, the McIntyre Foundation, the Grandon Foundation, the Giacoletto Foundation, the City of Marion, Hills Bank, and Farmers State Bank.