Mission & History

Mission:

Red Cedar Chamber Music was founded in July 1997 by concert artists Jan Boland and John Dowdall. Its mission is "to perform chamber music with virtuosity, energy, and artistic excellence, enriching broad and diverse local, domestic, and international audiences through concerts and educational activities; to stimulate creative artistic collaborations to reach this goal."

Red Cedar Chamber Music is a self-presenting 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with a core ensemble that participates in all Red Cedar performances.

Programming:

Red Cedar Chamber Music Red Cedar Chamber Music has adopted as its mantra "Chamber music should be just like this -- intimate, bonding and conversational," quoting a review of its core performers, the Red Cedar Trio, in The American Record Guide. Red Cedar audiences are treated to equal doses of the antique and the avant-garde. On one hand Red Cedar specializes in the performance of early 19th-century music on period instruments. On the other hand, Red Cedar annually commissions a new work for modern instruments. Red Cedar performs scores of concerts each year, both at home and abroad – most recently at Hunter College in New York, the Czech Embassy in Washington D.C., the National Museum in The Czech Republic, and the American Embassy in Tokyo.

Red Cedar Chamber Music continually strives to reach, challenge, and expand audiences that rarely have the opportunity to attend chamber music performances. This happens through its 3 components: a 100-event educational program, a concert series, and a summer festival.

1. Educational Programming : Called Community Connections, our extensive educational programming enhances the quality of life and brings nearly 100 chamber music events each year to special under served populations of Iowans, when and where people normally congregate. 1) Rural Outreach Concerts. Chamber music for tiny rural communities. Funded by a grant from the NEA 2) Sounds Like Success. An after-school program for at-risk kids ages 6-12. Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. 3) Music for Kids. For students in schools: designed to fit into existing school curriculums. 4) Caring Concerts. Brings intimate and communicative chamber music to seniors when and where they normally congregate. 5) Chamber Music Now! Gives gifted high school and college instrumental students an opportunity to mentor, and perform with Red Cedar's professional chamber ensemble. 6) Production Floor Performances. Music for the work place. 7) Gifts of Music. Gives donated musical events to help other not-for-profit organizations. 8) Emerging Artists. Hires musicians launching professional careers.

2. Concert Series : A three-concert series (each performed at least 4 times) draws guest artists of the highest quality from across the country to work in concert with Iowa artists. The programming is diverse, and frequently addresses the ethnic cultures which have immigrated to Eastern Iowa. For example, our collaborations with our National Czech Museum include newly rediscovered chamber music works by Czech composers and new commissions with Czech influence.

3. Summer Festival : Red Cedar Chamber Music's Summer Festival is a magnet that draws professional and aspiring-professional musicians from across the nation, in a one-week festival held annually in July. Participants receive musical coaching, and take classes that sharpen their administrative and marketing skills. They perform mini concerts in our community.

History:

Red Cedar Chamber Music, Inc. was founded in Marion, Iowa in 1997 for the purpose of bringing quality chamber music to diverse audiences. Red Cedar Chamber Music has four components 1) Concert Series -- a series of three community-based concerts, 2) Community Connections -- educational events targeting ordinary people (the underserved, kids, folks in the workplace, senior citizens) 3) Summer Festival -- honing the musical & business skills of professional and aspiring-professional musicians, and 4) Worldwide --concerts on tour to reach rural communities, and national & international audiences.

The founders, artists Jan Boland (flutist) & John Dowdall (guitarist), brought 16 years of experience to the organization. The Boland-Dowdall Duo is the core-ensemble of Red Cedar Chamber Music. Additional artists are engaged to enrich programming and explore collaborations. Voilist David Miller, regularly joins the group, and together they are known as the Red Cedar Trio.

Collaborations are the lifeblood of our organization. Through collaborations with composers, Red Cedar has commissioned/premiered 18 new works (including one concerto) since 1997. Collaborations with local arts and human service organizations serve to integrate art forms, enhance programming, develop audience, and provide concert venues (art museum, ethnic museums, history museum, historic sites, libraries, after-school programs, etc.) --it is a win-win situation for all.

Support for this budding organization is strong, both in terms of audience reached and monies contributed for support. The concert series is frequently a standing-room-only event. The Iowa Arts Council scored Red Cedar Chamber Music the highest marks for an Iowa mid-sized organization and awarded an Operational Support Grant in the amount of $6100. Donations from individuals, and corporate sponsorships put us on a good footing financially.
Highlights include the partnership with The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art: rare musical instruments were borrowed from the Met & used for performance (only the 2nd time in the Met's history such a loan was made) in workshops, educational activities, concerts, and culminated in a compact disc recording. A concert was presented at the Met Museum in N.Y. to celebrate the release of the CD, Crystal to Gold (Fleur De Son Classics).

Czech Chamber Music, a CD by Red Cedar Chamber Music artists flutist Jan Boland, violist David Miller, and guitarist John Dowdall received a "Critic's Choice Award" from the American Record Guide. Other projects reflecting the strong Czech culture in our local area have led to commissions, artist exchanges with musicians in the Czech Republic, and performances of Czech-Inspired music in New York, Washington D.C, and Prague and Brno in The Czech Republic in 2004.

The popular outreach program, Community Connections, serves a broad and diverse audience in Eastern Iowa with mini-concerts and (mostly free) educational events. In partnership with our Marion Chamber of Commerce, the program values its collaborations with the Heritage Agency on Aging , Cedar Rapids Schools, and Four Oaks (after school program) to bring chamber music to non-traditional audiences when and where they normally meet. Educational events comprise two-thirds of Red Cedar Chamber Music's programming. The summer of 2000 launched the annual Red Cedar Chamber Music Summer Festival -- for professional and aspiring professional musicians. Participants hone their musical and business skills in a 7-day event packed with (their) community concerts, classes, coaching sessions, and the sharing of ideas.