Red Cedar Chamber Music: Hussite Fantasy

How do you turn a battle hymn into a concert piece for string quartet? Composer Philip Wharton knew just what to do when the Vavra family commissioned him in 2008 to write a piece in honor of the 150th anniversary of the (historically Czech) First Presbyterian Church near Ely, Iowa. Wharton’s composition, Hussite Fantasy, springboards off a 15th-century Czech battle hymn, turning it into a fantasy, a waltz and a furiant.

This program honors Red Cedar’s long relationship with the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library with works celebrating Czech music and culture. Additional repertoire will be Dvořák’s Quartet no.5 in F minor and Quartet Concertante Over Czech Folk Songs by Jerry Owen.

Join Red Cedar Chamber Music at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library on Sunday, February 26 at 3:00pm for an afternoon of Czech music! Doors to the concert space open at 2:30pm.

Visit RedCedar.org for additional performances and more information about the musicians.

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Tickets are $15 in advance ($18 at the door). Tickets for age 30 and under are $10.

Support provided by the Program Grant Fund of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation; the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs; and the National Endowment for the Arts. Special thanks to Artist Sponsors Vic & Jan (Hamous) Naxera and Don & Irene Hamous, and to contributing sponsors Duane & Kay Nesetril.