11/01/2026
Connection - a symphony of us: PIECE by PIECE
The stories behind the scores for DSO’s November 7-8 performances at Five Flags Theater. Tickets and info at: https://dubuquesymphony.org/concerts-and-events
John Frantzen’s Big City
Notes by Janet E. Bedell copyright 2026
Born in rural Maquoketa, Iowa, composer and conductor John Frantzen has traced an eclectic career path that has led him to America’s three biggest cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Equally conversant in acoustic and electronic music, he has forged a vibrant, appealing style that combines exciting electro-acoustic soundscapes with a diverse orchestral palette. Frantzen enjoys collaborating with film and stage directors, choreographers, and visual artists. His music and sound designs have been featured in multi-media art exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, and the Dubuque Museum of Art. An unusual opportunity came his way when conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra invited him to co-orchestrate and arrange the music for Philadelphia’s Papal Mass on the occasion of Pope Francis I’s 2015 visit to the United States.
Fueled by brass and drums, Frantzen’s hyper-kinetic short orchestra work Big City, written for the Manhattan School of Music’s Summer Youth Orchestra, expresses his own first impressions of urban life and atmosphere in New York City, where he completed graduate studies at the Manhattan School. He writes:
“Having grown up in a small rural midwestern town my first trip to a ‘big’ city was one of wonder, excitement, and a bit of trepidation. The noisy rush of people, traffic, and concrete overwhelms the senses in a way that is both astonishing and bewildering. The hustle-bustle of the big city, inspiring for some, overpowering for others, nevertheless leaves an indelible mark on those who dwell and those who visit. Big City, in its development, reflects the myriad of emotions one goes through when encountering one of our country’s great urban landscapes for the first time.”
