The temperatures are rising, the snow is melting, and everything is turning green — it must be time for St. Patrick’s Day. Whether you’re Irish by birth, or just for the day, there is plenty happening in and around the Corridor to help you celebrate.

Not sure where to start? Head to downtown Cedar Rapids for the 35th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Put on by the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Society, the parade kicks-off at 1 p.m. with a kid-friendly post-parade party at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel featuring music, food and a cash bar.

Or check out one, or several, of the areas’ Irish pubs for music and merriment. In Cedar Rapids’
own Irish District, at the intersection of E Avenue and 16th Street NE, you’re sure to find revelers spilling out into the streets. Or grab a stool at Micky’s Pub in Iowa City and sip a pint at the same bar where Dylan Thomas, Richard Nixon and Kurt Vonnegut once sat.
— KELSEY
Cedar Rapids

1. Dublin City
415 1st Street S.E.
(319) 247-7180

2. Irish Democrat Pub & Grille
3207 1st Ave SE
(319) 364-9896
http://irishdemocrat.net/

3. JM O’Malley’s
1502 H Ave NE
(319) 369-9433

4. Mahoney’s
1602 E Ave NE
(319) 364-5754
www.mahoneyspubcr.com

5. Moose McDuffy’s
834 First Ave. NE
(319) 369-3917
www.moosemcduffys.com
6. Mulligans
1060 Old Marion Rd. NE
(319) 294-5778

7. Paddy O’Rourkes
608-16th St. NE
(319) 362-0554
Open at 8 a.m. and keeping you fueled with corn beef and cabbage with red potatoes and Irish stew, as well as their regular menu. Dance of your meal to the tunes of Maru in the outdoor beer garden from 3 to 7 p.m.

8. Shawn Ryan’s Irish Pub
715 2nd Ave. SE
(319) 365-1591
www.shawnryansirishpub.com

Iowa City/Coralville

9. Donnelly’s Pub
110 East College St.
(319) 338-7355
www.donnellyspub.com
10. Dublin Underground
5 S. Dubuque St.
(319) 337-7660

11. Micky’s Irish Pub
11 S. Dubuque St.
(319) 338-6860
www.mickyspub.com

12. Flannigan’s Sports
Bar & Grill
501 First Ave., Coralville
(319) 351-1904
www.powercompany
restaurant.com/
flanmain.htm

Riverside

13. Murphy’s Bar & Grille
71 E. First St., Riverside
(319) 648-2888
www.murphsbar.com

Follow along with The Gazette’s Diana Nollen and Spencer Willems here.

Junior League of Cedar Rapids will bring the excitement of its own version of the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America” to the local level yet again on March 10 as area chefs and restaurants pull out all the stops to compete in the fast-paced, fourth annual “Iron Chef Cedar Rapids.”

And according to Lizabeth Wardzinski and Danielle McCoy, 2010 Iron Chef Co-Chairs for Junior League,
you can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen.

“The chefs love the competition,” Lizabeth says.
“They become very competitive about maintaining
their title from the previous year or dethroning the previous year’s winner. While we were preparing
for the event … we would visit restaurants that had previously competed and they were proudly
displaying their awards.”

Last year’s champion, Nathan Derrick of Cibo Fusion in Cedar Rapids, will be back to defend his title and is enthusiastic about participating.

“The surprise of it and the pressure are fun,” he says.

Nathan Derrick and other local chefs will find out the “mystery ingredient” they must incorporate in their dish — along with pork belly, a starch, a vegetable and a sauce — the morning of the competition. After preparing their dishes they are judged on presentation, taste, professionalism and creative use of the mystery ingredient.

Those who attend the event have as much fun
as the chefs.

“I think people enjoy coming to watch the spectacle of it,” says Nathan. “You don’t usually get an opportunity to actually see the workings
of a kitchen.”

As if watching the Iron Chef competition heat up weren’t enough, Danielle says there’s lots of other tasty excitement included in the event.

“Our guests will taste the culinary works of three other local restaurants competing in what is
called the People’s Choice event,” she says.
“Guests will be given ballots to vote on their favorite appetizer dishes. Three restaurants —
Vinos, Zins and Jiamen — will have one of their
hot appetizer dishes and one of their cold
appetizer dishes for the guest to taste.”

Local vendors — including Millstream Brewery,
Dale Lee Distributing, Secret Cellar, 1st Avenue
Wine House and Fireside Winery — also will host
wine and beer tastings.

Of course it’s not just about savoring delectable treats. Iron Chef Cedar Rapids supports the fundraising mission of the Junior League. Proceeds from ticket sales will be contributed to the Junior League’s Community Grants and also support the Expressive Art Studio and Retail Store at The Arc of East Central Iowa.

“It is really gratifying that we can put something on that people really enjoy, community businesses get involved in, and still generate money that will be
going to a great cause,” Lizabeth says.

So what’s the secret ingredient for Iron Chef event success? They aren’t telling of course. You’ll have to
find out on March 10 — just like the chefs.

— KATIE

Casey Prince, 32, Cedar Rapids

Managing Director @ Theatre Cedar Rapids

A 50 percent increase in yearly patrons. A 30 percent increase in the number of annual volunteers. All debt paid off. These figures speak well of Casey Prince’s three year tenure as the managing director of Theatre Cedar Rapids.

Consider too that half of Casey’s time with TCR has been as the theater first reeled, then recovered and now returns from the Floods of 2008.

As Friday — TCR’s much anticipated return to its downtown home at the Iowa Theatre Building — approaches, Casey is determined to set an example of how the arts can have an economic impact in a city’s downtown core.

“I want us to be the domino that tips downtown and accelerates things. If we’re getting 30,000 people down here in small numbers night after night, I look forward to feeling like we had an impact on other downtown businesses.”

Both before and since the floods, Casey’s role as managing director at TCR has meant he is a jack of all trades. He oversees theater operations – from hiring to fundraising. He’s also directed the occasional TCR production.

“In one moment, I’m helping load scenery. In another moment, I’m working on a grant. In another moment, I’m auditioning kids to be orphans in Annie,” he says. “There’s a surprise around every corner.”

Casey grew up in Cedar Rapids and went to Washington

High School.

“I was notorious for running to choir concerts straight from the wrestling mat or a game,” Casey says.

Theater was always part of his life, but never his priority.

“It was always theater and something else,” he says.

At Drake University in Des Moines, he played football and majored in business. Then, after graduation, he honed in on acting. Casey packed up and moved to Los Angeles to pursue the dream for 18 months.

When a sales opportunity arose in Cedar Rapids at a family business, he came back to Iowa.

“The next thing you know, I’m also the drama director at Franklin, McKinley, and Wilson (Middle Schools), and I’m a guest director at Kennedy (High School),” he says. “I fell in love with the impact that arts can have on kids.”

Those experiences put Casey in the right place at the right time. After a musical at Franklin, he crossed paths with a TCR board chairman, who asked him some questions. A few weeks later, while helping at a TCR fundraiser, a few other board members approached Casey and encouraged him to apply for the managing director position.

The board members were looking for a change as they conducted their search, and they found it in Casey.

“Unfortunately, I had to be ‘that guy,’ ” he says. “But, fortunately, I’ve developed a strong staff that’s passionate about our mission. If you focus on your mission, the people who value what you do will come out of nowhere. We’re an important story today, and we were a forgotten story a few years ago.”

When Casey was hired, it was clear that TCR was struggling and operating in the red.

“Call it adolescence; the theater was having growing pains,” says Casey. “It was in a scary place. It’s mind-numbing to look at newspaper clippings — how few we had a few years ago, and how many we have today.”

Thriving in situations where he’s told things can’t be done, Casey remains focused on his personal mission: to turn TCR around. And it’s working.

He wants to give back to the community he grew up in and where he’s now raising his own family.

“One reason I was so invested in helping the schools is because I felt like I was paying forward what I got,” he says. “In a lot of ways, I’m also paying it forward through TCR. I feel like I’ve left my 50-year mark, and that was my goal.”

— LEAH

Related stories:

• Behind the scenes at the Iowa Theatre Building
• What’s new at TCR
• Progress on other area arts venues
• “The Producers”

Kevin Brooks, 27, Cedar Rapids

Hockey Director @ Cedar Rapids Ice Arena

On ice skates since the age of 2, it’s fitting that Kevin Brooks’ days are at hat trick of sorts. The Massachusetts native is the Hockey Director at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, head coach of the Cedar Rapids Lady RoughRiders and the assistant coach of the USHL RoughRiders.

Originally from the Boston area, Brooks played center for the RoughRiders for two seasons from 2001 to 2003. During his 118 career games for the RoughRiders, he scored 35 goals and 72 total points. He was named Rookie of the Year his first season on the ice, elected team captain by his teammates and voted the Fans’ Favorite Player during his second season.

“I know that most of the fans liked my style of play. I enjoyed getting under the other team’s skin when I could,” says Brooks. “I would finish all of my checks, drop the gloves if necessary and I tried to do whatever would help my team on that particular night. I guess you could say I liked to take some of the other team’s players off their game. If that meant playing hurt, or getting stitched up in between shifts, that’s what I wanted to do.”

After his second season with the RoughRiders, Brooks returned to Massachusetts where he played hockey for Providence College and later Curry College until his career was cut short by a head injury.

“It was very hard to take the news that I couldn’t continue playing hockey, and it’s something that I will never forget,” he says.

Brooks didn’t allow the injury to put his love of hockey on ice, however. He made the switch from playing to coaching.

“I just look at the positive: I’m still enjoying the game of hockey to this day and have the opportunity to lace up my skates every day,” Brooks says. “I feel very fortunate to have that opportunity.”

His first coaching job was with the Walpole Express in Massachusetts.

Then two years ago, as fate would have it, the hockey director position opened up in Cedar Rapids. Today Brooks not only runs the youth and adult hockey programs — scheduling all games and practices at the arena — he also launched and coaches the Lady Riders, the first women’s high school age hockey team in the state.

“The Lady Riders program is unique,” says Brooks. “A female team was never really given a shot in Cedar Rapids. I had a few connections, and knew the girls would take care of the rest if they were given the chance, and they have proven me right thus far.”

Before the Lady Riders, Cedar Rapids area high school-age girls had to play on a boys’ team or not at all.

“A lot of the boys didn’t want you on their team, and opposing teams would single you out during games,” says Maddie Flesner a freshman at Kennedy High School and Lady Rider. “Coach Brooks treats us just like any other boys’ high school team. Establishing the Lady RoughRiders really opened opportunities for us, especially for those of us who want to go on and play college hockey. It helps that Coach Brooks has a lot of connections in the hockey world.”

The team has a winning record, but for Brooks, it’s not necessarily about winning. It’s about introducing more people to ice hockey and providing them with the opportunity to share his passion for the game, he says.

“I was very fortunate to have some great coaches and some very strong programs in my area,” he says. “I would love to turn Cedar Rapids into a hockey hot bed, but that’s something that is going to take time. I’m just doing my best to give any child in the Cedar Rapids area the chance to play the game.”

— KEVIN MCNEE

DID YOU KNOW

Kevin Brooks met his wife, Kathy, a Cedar Rapids native, when he played for the RoughRiders in 2001 to 2003. They were married in 2007.

WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU

“Get out on the ice once and you’ll be hooked,” says Brooks. “I truly believe hockey is like no other sport and encourage anyone who is interested to come down to the arena and give it a try.”

Melissa Fontanini, 28, North Liberty 

Lyndsie Schnoor, 25, North Liberty 

Co-owners @ Bella Sala Reception and Banquet Facility and XOXO Hugs and Kisses Bridal Boutique

This Valentine’s Day chances are good that more than a few men will slip a ring on the finger of their beloved.

Saying yes was the easy part.

Now the hard stuff begins. The decisions. Oh. The decisions.

Besides the whole lifetime commitment part, there is the dress, the reception hall, the food, the guests, and much much more to consider, plan and execute, all while looking beautiful and composed when the day finally arrives.

Lyndsie Schnoor

Two local women — Lyndsie Schnoor and Melissa Fontanini — recognize how stressful a couple’s big day can be. So, they’ve created their vision of a “one stop shop” for brides.

What they first envisioned as a bridal boutique quickly grew into a boutique plus a reception hall, then into a full fledged event center and boutique – Bella Sala Reception and Banquet Facility and XOXO Hugs and Kisses Bridal Boutique.

“We tried to make a really important experience a lot easier,” says Lyndsie.

Melissa Fontanini

She and Melissa (pronounced Ma-leesa) will manage both the boutique, which they also own, and reception center, which they own with local investors.

Both ventures have been a labor of love, from designing the building to the hand picking items for the boutique.

“We like to dream big” Lyndsie says.

The reception hall, a 17,000 square-foot-facility on 22 acres in rural Tiffin, can accommodate groups large and small, from a couple hundred to more than 600. Both the mid-sized and largest space have a walkout patio area overlooking two waterfalls and can be used for a reception or outdoor ceremony. Inside, Bella Sala holds an upscale pub, Salud, convenient for events ranging from Christmas parties to smaller wedding receptions and anything in between.

There are flat screen televisions in reception area so both brides and grooms are happy come Hawkeye football season.

XOXO Hugs and Kisses Bridal Boutique houses couture wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses and prom wear by designers like Winnie Couture, Terani Couture and Joli Bridal. They will sell a modern vintage jewelry line by local designer Kelli Weber, and they’ve also partnered with local hotels, photographers and limousine companies.

— EMILY

DID YOU KNOW?

Lyndsie Schnoor and Melissa Fontanini both grew up in the Cedar Rapids and Marion areas. They met at Linn-Mar High School, went to separate colleges and ended up working at the same Cedar Rapids company after college. It was then that they realized they both shared a passion for the fashion industry and decided to venture into the bridal boutique business. From idea to reality, it’s been two years since the two decided to follow their dream. They’ve succeeded, despite an economic downfall while working out of a trailer without heat and all before they were 30 years old. They chalk up their success to “perseverance”.

WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR YOU

Check out Bella Sala and Hugs and Kisses Bridal Boutique for yourself Friday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. during a runway show with dresses sold at the boutique. The official grand opening will be Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find out more at www.bellasalaevents.com or www.xoxohugsandkissesbridal.com or check out both businesses on Facebook.

Who are we? Heather Younker, Carissa Starleaf & Mona Muse. We run The Shop Next Door in Cedar Rapids and enjoy the crafty life. We get a kick out of trying our hands at sewing, jewelry making, cooking, styling. The list goes on.

What is the goal of this column? To explore creative, hands-on ways to enjoy life in Eastern Iowa. To be artistic you simply need some curiosity, a desire to work with your hands and a willingness to get messy (sometimes).

This week we offer some suggestions to tackle the winter wardrobe blues. Here in the Corridor, snow-covered sidewalks and chilly temperatures dictate our style, but if you walk into any clothing store right now you will see a selection fit for southern California. Don’t be frustrated that the mercury level is too low for that perfect sundress you have your eye on. Think of it as an opportunity to bust out of the winter blahs. Spring wear is here and we want to help you introduce it to your winter attire.

Hello, cardigan sweater that has overstayed its welcome. Meet your new friend — brightly patterned dress.

If you can’t quite bring yourself to buy anything yet, try grabbing a couple pieces out of storage. If you are willing to step out of your comfort zone to overcome your cold weather funk, incorporating spring pieces just might be your answer. Most items can be transformed into cold weather wear. And, no, we are not talking about socks with sandals.

Spring dresses and skirts combined with a toasty-warm cardigan, thick tights and knee-high boots are the perfect solution to boring winter clothing. Right now layering is a popular look, so go ahead and throw in a Spring piece here and there. Even if you are only wearing a beautiful floral top underneath a sweater, at least you know it is there, cheering you on.

Not ready to make such a statement? If you aren’t quite sure about this approach, find a flowered scarf, or a jewel-toned broach or colorful hair pin to accent your cold weather wardrobe.

Just a little punch of color is all you need to let the springtime peek through. It may even cheer someone else up, too.

— HEATHER, CARISSA, MONA

We don’t know if you know this, but, TCR is literally weeks away from returning back to downtown Cedar Rapids to its newly rennovated Iowa Theatre.

Check out these videos of the rennovation process.

The lobby, with original 1928 plasterwork:

The box office and lounge:

The BATHROOMS!

Want to check out the theatre for yourself? Tickets are on sale now for the first show back downtown — The Producers. Tickets to the opening night gala are sold out, but tickets remain for the rest of the performances from Feb. 27 to March 14. Tickets are $20 to $25 for adults, $15 for youth, with $12 rush tickets. For ticket information, go to www.theatrecr.org

Mark Roberts, 35, Cedar Rapids
Interior designer @ Larry Roberts Interiors
When Mark Roberts submitted photos of a completed design project to Traditional Home magazine last fall, he was hoping the magazine would recognize the beauty and style in the design and feature it in an upcoming issue.

He had no idea that submission would lead to the magazine naming him as one of the 20 “young designers to watch” in their March 2010 issue.

“I wasn’t seeking this out,” says Mark. “I was just trying to get one of our projects into the magazine.”

Mark, who works with his father at Larry Roberts Interiors in Cedar Rapids, is listed among designers from large metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Dallas and New York City – including one who was once a set designer for HBO’s “Sex and the City.”

He joins those ranks, he says, “to show people that some really good work gets done in the Midwest, too.”

The honor may not come as a surprise to many that know Mark.

He told Traditonal Home that as a child “instead of going camping, we toured Monticello and Colonial Williamsburg.”

There have been many projects over the years that have caught his eye, but one he completed in September really stood out.

“It was really well-developed and was filled with all the accessories and draperies and everything that I would want to do to really finish a room well,” Mark says. “I thought it was something that should be submitted to a magazine.”

So he contacted a design editor at Traditional Home, who seemed interested, but in the time it took to talk with various editors and make arrangements for professional photography, the home, which housed the design had been sold and the project was partially dismantled.

Then the original design editor asked Mark an odd question.

“She says, ‘Can I ask how old you are?’” he says.

He told her and she asked for more images of other projects. That’s when Mark learned that she wanted to feature him as one of the 20 young designers in the March issue.

It wasn’t until the magazine came out a few weeks ago that Roberts found out there was a contest attached to the feature, as well.

Readers can vote online for their favorite designer and enter for a chance to win a custom room. The prizes also includes Duralee fabric, up to a $5,000 value. At the same time, one randomly selected designer will win 50 yards of Duralee fabric to be used in future projects, also up to a $5,000 value.

Two weeks into the contest — which runs through the end of February — Mark is in second place.

“We’re encouraging our clients to vote, it’s just something fun,” he says. “It could be a good plug for Cedar Rapids if we do well.”
— MOLLY

What he can do for you
To see some of Roberts’ designs, and to access a link to the contest, see the firm’s Web site, www.larryrobertsinteriors.com Vote for Mark. You never know. You might win a custom designed room.

Did you know?
Mark’s father, Larry, started his design firm in 1979. They’ve been family-owned and local ever since. Mark joined the firm in 1997.

GET OUT

• What: Orchestra Iowa’s “Fire and Ice” concert, featuring pianist Conor Hanick
• When: Cedar Rapids: 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, Sinclair Auditorium, Coe College, 1220 First Ave. NE; Iowa City: 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, West High School, 2901 Melrose Ave.
• Tickets: $14 to $39 at www.orchestraiowa.org, (319) 366-8203, 1-(800) 369-8863 or the Orchestra Iowa Ticket Office, 119 Third Ave. SE
• Program: Nielsen, “Helios”; Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 3; Sibelius, Symphony No. 2
• Discussions: Free “Insight” discussions with Conor Hanick and Maestro Timothy Hankewich: 7 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium, 1 p.m. at West High School

GENERATION O

ImpactCR and Orchestra Iowa have partnered to present the second of three Generation O series at Saturday’s Fire and Ice concert in Cedar Rapids on Saturday. Generation O ticket holders are invited to a pre-performance cocktail hour, a backstage tour with Maestro Tim Hankewich, concert and post performance meet-and-greet at Zins with Orchestra Iowa staff and guest performer Conor Hanick. All of this in addition to one of the premier concerts of the season at an affordable price ensures a night at the orchestra like never before. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at www.orchestraiowa.org or by calling (319) 366-8203. Tickets are also available through the Orchestra Iowa Ticket Office, 119 Third Ave. SE, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

DETAILS:

• 6 p.m.: Pre-concert cocktail reception at Water Tower Place, 900 Second St. SE
• 7 p.m.: Behind-the-scenes tour, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave. NE
• 8 p.m.: Concert, Sinclair Auditorium, 1220 1st Ave. NE
• Post-performance: Zins, 227 Second Ave. SE

Fire at his fingertips

Conor Hanick is training for a race that he’ll run sitting down.

At a grand piano.

The Iowa City native is returning home to make his debut appearance with Orchestra Iowa next weekend.

He’ll be performing Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto, which will put the fire in the orchestra’s “Fire and Ice” Classical Series concerts. They’re slated for 8 p.m. Saturday at Coe College in Cedar Rapids and 2 p.m. Sunday at West High School in Iowa City.

Orchestra Iowa conductor Timothy Hankewich, 42, of Cedar Rapids, says the Prokofiev piece has a little ice in it, as well.

“It’s fiery, but there’s also something steely and icy to his compositional style. It’s fiery in the bravura technique but is has something of that 20th century iciness. … I just love Prokofiev in general. It’s such physical music, extremely energetic, extremely technical and extremely impressive.”

The concerto, a 30-minute piece in three movements, will test Hanick’s mettle.

“Since I’ve been practicing it, it feels like a headbanger’s ball to me,” Hanick, 27, says by phone from the Juilliard School in New York, where he’s a second-year doctorate student. “It’s really energetic from first measure to last measure. There are very few sections with more introspective moments. When they do occur, they add really powerful strength to the piece. It’s a tour de force, virtuoso headbanger’s piece.

“Prokofiev is very sarcastic and sardonic in the way that he composes,” Hanick says. “There are really powerful moments of biting irony where he’s kind of jabbing you and stabbing you in ways that are sometimes kind of uncomfortable. That’s one of his strengths as a composer.”

He first put the piece under his fingers at age 14 and began relearning it a few months ago, which has been no easy feat. For the past month, has been getting down to what he calls “the nitty-gritty,” practicing as much as eight hours a day.

“One of the more immense challenges I’ve ever had to deal with as a pianist is relearning this concerto,” says Hanick, son of Kevin and Pat Hanick of Iowa City. “I had such bad habits at 14. The only thing harder than learning notes to a different concerto is relearning one from your 14-year-old self.

“When I first started, it was like going in a time machine and revisiting the bad habits of my 14-year-old self and scolding myself. The grunt work of that is over and I can actually play the notes now,” he says. “Muscle memory is very powerful in the formative years of musicality.”

The physical aspects rise to the top of the concerto’s challenges.

“Certainly the endurance component,” Hanick says. “It’s almost entirely composed with piano and orchestra, with few moments of orchestral interlude. It’s just the nature of the piano writing. It creates physical issues I have to look at. It’s like training for a race — you have to condition yourself.

“There are technical challenges with this piece you have to embody in order to bring it off,” he adds. “The texture and nature of the piece make it so when there are moments of more introspective playing, you need to find ways of making those passages speak in contrast to what is otherwise a pretty raucous texture.

“Certainly with pieces like this — Russian warhorse concertos — part of challenge for the performer is finding something unique and finding refreshing ways to present them.”

Hanick began taking piano lessons in earnest at age 10 at West Music in Coralville. About three years later, he began studying with University of Iowa professors. He graduated from City High School in Iowa City in 2001, then went to Northwestern University in Chicago. With interests in reading, writing, the arts, architecture and chemistry, he ended up concentrating on music and journalism.

“I didn’t want to restrict myself from exploring (other options) by going to a conservatory,” he says. “By the time I graduated, I discovered my passion for music never really dissipated.”

With an eye toward getting a master’s degree from Juilliard, he took a year off, moved to New York and borrowed a friend’s ID to gain access to a Juilliard practice room.

“I was an honorary student for a year,” he says with a laugh. “I practiced like a madman for a year and got in with a really huge scholarship. It’s one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve made. It’s really a remarkable experience being in New York and seeing your career develop and seeing your interests expand.”

He’s entering his final semester of course work and expects to be there another two years, working on his dissertation and recitals. Hoping for a performance career, he knows a lot of that success will fall squarely on his shoulders.

“I’ll be striving to perform as much as I can,” he says. “I’m youthful and have the energy to learn this music and I have the eagerness to perform in public. Being a musician right now requires a desire to perform and you have to have the skills to write, teach, be creative and create avenues of success for yourself.”

And when opportunities come calling, you answer, especially if it means getting to go back home.

Hankewich had Hanick on his radar, hearing about him from audience and board members, as well as seeing glowing reviews for Hanick’s performances in New York.

When Orchestra Iowa called, Hanick said yes.

“That was an easy decision to make,” he says. “Anytime you get a chance to play with an orchestra you take it. …

“This is something I’m really looking forward to. I did so much performing when I was living there in high school. A lot of people contributed to my musical upbringing. It’s really special to come back and be able to play for them again.”

— DIANA NOLLEN, THE GAZETTE