Iowa is known for farming and is a leader in feeding the world, but our cultural offerings might just surprise you.

As a free-lance composer living in Cedar Rapids, I have access to some of the finest musicians in the world.  There are four wonderful symphonies in Eastern Iowa - Orchestra Iowa (Cedar Rapids), the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, the Quad Cities Symphony, and the Dubuque Symphony.  Additionally, there are two tremendous music schools within an hour of Cedar Rapids, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

In general, families in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor are very supportive of the arts, and seek out music lessons for their children.  Many college students go to the University of Iowa and perform with the Center for New Music, then find they can make a living teaching lessons and playing in the symphonies. These opportunities keep them in the area, much to my delight! 

As head of the Iowa Composers Forum, I'm always trying to put together concerts in the region.  I find it rewarding having connections with at least two or three players on every instrument (even bassoon and double bass!) and this makes it relatively easy to put together mixed ensemble concerts.  And because the Universities and Symphonies are relatively supportive of new music, and due to the work of the Iowa Composers Forum, most performers are approachable about participating in performances of new music.

Cedar Rapids boasts not one, but two fine community choirs - Choral Midwest and the Cedar Rapids Concert Chorale.  I was recently able to pitch a project to both of these groups, and put together an ad hoc choir of 25+ singers that will sing new compositions at an upcoming Iowa Composers Forum festival in Cedar Rapids on May 22nd.  

As part of our heritage, Iowans want to help their neighbors (look at how quickly Cedar Rapids has recovered from the flooding compared with New Orleans).  This spirit spills over into the relationship between composers and performers.  Ask yourself, in what other city, could a composer make a pitch to two chorale organizations to sing some new music, and get this many folks willing to sacrifice several Saturday mornings to help - that's inspiring!

And because of these musical institutions and a relatively low cost of living, Cedar Rapids has a bevy of composers living in it (12 composers come immediately to mind, and I'm sure there are several others I'm unaware of).  The universities of Iowa and UNI have well respected composition programs too, so there are well over forty composers within a ninety mile radius of one another, writing in various styles and aesthetics - exhilarating!

But beyond the musical organizations themselves, there are also several radio stations that play jazz and classical music; our local newspapers are supportive, often running press releases about new music events; the University of Iowa Library has a voluminous collection of scores to be studied along with their accompanying CDs; and, there are several private foundations and granting institutions (like the Iowa Arts Council) that composers can apply to for funding to support recording projects, concerts, commissions, and in-school residencies.

Other cultural amenities in the area include the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, with a ready supply of works by Grant Wood and Marvin Cone, several theater companies, the New Bohemian Arts Group, Red Cedar Chamber Music, the History Center, the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, the African American Cultural Museum, the Coe College Concert Band, the CR Jazz Big Band, the Czech-Slovak Museum, and the Ballet Academy, among others. 

New York has more opportunities for sure, but I for one would not want to raise my family there. In Cedar Rapids I feel safe, and I know my kids will be attending fine schools and growing up in a caring community where neighbors look out for one another.

Given all of the things that are important to me, I can't think of a better place to live. 

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