The Spirit of ’76 is marching to a different drummer as the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra is "Puttin' on the Ritz" for a pair of September Pops Concerts.
On the heels of the September 2025 standing-room-only presentation of George Gershwin’s 1924 “Rhapsody in Blue,” his 1925 Piano Concerto in F is ready to dazzle audiences in Ottumwa and Burlington one year later. And in the second half, Iowa’s own “American Idol” Golden Ticket winner, Kelsey Madsen of Cedar Rapids, returns to the SEISO stage. She’ll have temperatures rising with such sultry favorites as “Fever” and “Sway.”
The concerts begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 in Ottumwa’s Bridge View Center and 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at The Capitol in Burlington. Pre-show gourmet dinner add-ons are available in both cities, and audiences are invited to meet the artists at free receptions after each concert.