Des Moines Symphony And Academy

The Des Moines Symphony is a not-for-profit, professional orchestra formed in 1937 to enrich, educate and provide the Central Iowa community with innovative programming and inspiring performances of great orchestral music. The Des Moines Symphony Academy, housed in the beautifully restored Temple for Performing Arts in downtown Des Moines, was launched in 2003 to provide quality music education opportunities for Central Iowans of all ages. The Symphony Association, governed by a 24-member volunteer Board of Trustees and operating on an annual budget of $4.2 million, supports both the Symphony Academy and its numerous education programs including four youth orchestras, a Youth Wind Ensemble, chamber music, music theory and private lessons to over 600 students each week; and supports the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director & Conductor Joseph Giunta, who this season celebrates his 31st anniversary with the Orchestra. Each season, the Orchestra performs seven pairs of Masterworks concerts, a Pops series including the traditional New Year’s Eve Pops, education, outreach, family and other special concerts in its home at the acoustically acclaimed Des Moines Civic Center. This past summer the Orchestra launched its new summer series of concerts at the newly-opened Lauridsen Amphitheater at Water Works Park. In addition, the Des Moines Symphony produces and performs the annual Yankee Doodle Pops concert in July on the grounds of the Iowa State Capitol which attracts an audience of more than 100,000, the largest single-day attendance of any concert event in the State.