Basketball and the Orchestra: A Musician’s Guide to Understanding the Game Winter brings a new soundtrack: squeaking shoes, bouncing basketballs, pep band tunes, and fans yelling at referees who apparently cannot see anything. Here in Iowa, basketball season feels like a statewide celebration, especially after living through the Caitlin Clark era. Her deep threes, quick plays, and impossible passes created a kind of magic that even classical musicians can appreciate. If Paganini had played...

Peter is a viola student at Dynamic Music Studios in Coralville, IA studying with Christina Mixemong . Why did you decide to start lessons? I chose viola because they showed the instruments and I liked the way it sounded. Not too high and not too low.  I decided to take lessons because I wanted to be able to play better and be able to make more music. I just love music. How long have you been taking lessons?  1.5 years Do you play any other instruments?  Alto Saxophone How often do you...

Dr. Jessica Saunders, soprano and Dr. Minji Kwon perform She Conjures at the New Music Festival for the Iowa Composer's Forum held at UNI in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Last weekend was a moving experience. I performed a newer piece composed by my close friend and colleague Lisa Neher. The work She Conjures ,  with music by Lisa Neher and libretto by Bea Goodwin , is set in 1600’s Scotland and tells the story of Grissall, a woman dealing with the aftermath of her mother's unjust execution by burning...