Allison Rott performed in April 24 orchestra Concert

2015 Apr 27

Allison Rott of North Aurora performed in Cornell College's annual spring orchestra concert.

The concert featured orchestral works from the 19th and early 20th centuries, including Gioachino Rossini's "Overture to the Barber of Seville," Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's "Danse Negre," and Johann Strauss' famous waltz "By the Beautiful Blue Danube." The largest piece featured on the program is by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. His "American Suite" is a five-movement piece combining Dvorak's characteristic folk rhythms with inspiration he drew from the years he spent composing, teaching, and conducting in America from 1892-95. Dvorak spent part of the summer of 1893 living with the Czech community in Spillville, Iowa, just north of Mount Vernon, Iowa, as it happens, hearing folk music of both Czech and American origin, which provided inspiration for a number of his composition, including the very famous "Symphony from the New World."

One of the 40 "Colleges That Change Lives," Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, is a national liberal arts college with a distinctive One Course At A Time curriculum. The One Course schedule provides students the chance to dive into their studies, focus more intensely on the disciplines of their choice, and learn authentically with the unique freedom to shed the confines of the traditional classroom to study off-campus, pursue research, or accept an internship - all without missing out on other classes.

Cornell has been recognized by numerous publications for the value its education offers and for academic excellence. This year it was named of the 100 best values in liberal arts education by Kiplinger's, one of the "Best Value Schools" among national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report, and one of the 100 Affordable Elite Colleges by Washington Monthly. Ninety-three percent of Cornell graduates earn their degrees in four years. In 2013 Cornell was named one of the 25 colleges with the best professors by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

For more information, visit www.cornellcollege.edu.