Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association

05/05/2026

The perfect way to cap off Mother's Day: TWELFTH NIGHT, early music ensemble, will close Ames Town & Gown's 2025-26 season, with a brilliant "Grand tour of the Baroque." Rachell Ellen Wong, baroque violin; David Belkovski, harpsichord; and Kevin Payne, lute. Sunday night, May 10, at 7:30 in the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall on the Iowa State University campus. Tickets: www.amestownandgown.org. All students free. Meet the musicians and their instruments at a SNEAK PREVIEW : Saturday, May 9, 10:00 at the Ames Public Library. Free and open to the public.

03/24/2026

Don't miss Du, Meine Welt! The World of Clara and Robert Schumann on Thursday, March 26 at 7:30pm in the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall!

Du, Meine Welt! brings to life the passionate and deeply personal world of 19th-century musical icons Clara Wieck and Robert Schumann. Blending the Schumanns’ own music with composer Jodi Goble’s evocative original settings of their letters and journals, this compelling new work offers an intimate portrait of love, artistry, and creative partnership. The performance features ISU voice faculty members Goble, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Rodgers, baritone Chad Sonka, and soprano Shelby VanNordstrand, joined by tenor Zachary Dean Smith (ISU ‘20) and soprano Victoria Erickson, who also serves as the project’s co-librettist and dramaturge. Du, Meine Welt! is a world premiere event not to be missed.

This concert will have a livestream.

03/16/2026

It's a mutual admiration society, for sure!

03/14/2026

Wow, the Ulysses Quartet concert last night was stunning! The performances of Debussy, Mendelssohn, a newly commissioned work by Lisa Davidson, and folk songs arranged by the musicians themselves, thrilled us with virtuosity countered by the most tender emotions. The members of the audience could hardly contain themselves at the end, all springing up as one for a rousing standing ovation. The encore, "Waltzing Matilda," brought tears to my eyes. They've performed in many of the world's great music venues, and we're grateful that the Ulysses Quartet's odyssey finally brought them to Ames!

03/12/2026

We were so fortunate to have a little outreach preview yesterday of the Ulysses Quartet concert (tonight, March 12). It's easy to understand why this outstanding Quartet has been the recipient of major international awards, but they're also four fascinating women! Our outreach truly lived up to its name, reaching avid music students and listeners, ages 10 to 98! Be sure not to miss this concert tonight! Tickets at the door or www.amestownandgown.org. See you there!!

03/11/2026

GREAT MUSIC COMING UP! THE ULYSSES QUARTET — winners of major international awards, including the Fischoff Competition — will perform on the Ames Town & Gown series TONIGHT, Thursday, March 12, at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Ames, 7:30 pm. You’ll enjoy an eclectic program: Debussy, Mendelssohn, and an Iowa premiere by prolific and engaging American composer Tina Davidson. Tickets available online and at the door. www.amestownandgown.org Last night, they presented an amazing concert preview, and it made everyone even more excited for the concert tonight. They're four amazing musicians and people!

We invite you to experience world-renowned musical ensembles and brilliant emerging artists in intimate concert settings. Due to the upcoming retirement of our Artistic Director at the end of the 2025-26 concert season,Ames Town & Gown Seeks New Managing/Artistic DirectorClick here for more details....

11/17/2025

What a stupendous Town & Gown concert last night! Laura Strickling and Daniel Schlosberg's recital offered a wonderful overview of art song, from melancholy to hilarious, from Schubert all the way up to a world premiere. And great songs by our resident pianist/vocal coach/composer Jodi Goble. But there was more: we also enjoyed a super master class and dinner out with friends of Town & Gown.

10/18/2025

TONIGHT! Saturday, October 18. 7:30 pm. The brilliant pianist Sean Chen (winner of Bronze Medal in the Cliburn
Competition)will present a fascinating solo recital as part of the Ames Town & Gown series in Ames. His program includes works of Rameau, Ligeti, Liszt, and his own amazing transcription of Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice (remember Disney's Fantasia?) You'll never meet a more delightful and down-to-earth concert pianist! Tickets at the door or online at amestownandgown.org. All students admitted free of charge! See you there: Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall, Iowa State University campus. AND ON SUNDAY, Sean will work with talented young pianists at MASTER CLASS -- 2 pm, same location. Free to the public.

10/31/2024

On Saturday evening, November 9, at 7:30 – as part of its 75th Season Celebration – the Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association will welcome home, on the stage of City Auditorium, five amazing musicians whose musical lives were launched in Ames before their advanced education and separate careers took them to cities and campuses throughout the country.
Flutist Sarah Shin, clarinetist Maureen Hurd, violinist Caleb Polashek, cellist Yeil Park, and pianist Aaron Lott all got their musical starts with school ensembles and private instrumental teachers in Ames, as well as connections with Ames Town & Gown. After preparing in their separate locations, the five will convene in Ames for a few days to put together their chosen program of solos, duos, and trios by Joseph Haydn, Luigi Bozza, Georg Philipp Telemann, Heitor Villa-Lobos, William Bolcom, Dmitri Shostakovich, Peter Schickele, Gabriel Faure, Morton Gould, Caleb Hans Polashek, and Enrique Granados.

Ames Town & Gown 's 75th concert season is presented in cooperation with the Department of Music and Theatre at Iowa State University. This performance is supported by an Ames Commission on the Arts Special Project Grant and the Greater Iowa Credit Union Corporate giving program.

TICKETS: $35, available online at www.amestownandgown.org; at Rieman Music (Ames), Chocolaterie Stam (Ames), and at the door. STUDENT TICKETS: FREE K-12 and college/university with student ID

ALL SEATING IS GENERAL ADMISSION