BROOKINGS (11-4-26) — The South Dakota State University Civic Symphony will present a program titled “Hidden Gems” at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, in the Larson Memorial Concert Hall at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center on campus.
The concert is free, and all are invited to attend.
The program celebrates remarkable works that are performed less frequently than many familiar orchestral favorites.
A featured highlight of the concert is the Clarinet Concerto by Italian early Romantic composer Saverio Mercadante, performed with the orchestra by Michael Walsh, SDSU’s professor of clarinet. Although largely overshadowed by contemporaries, Mercadante was one of the most respected Italian composers of the early 19th century. Walsh has served on the SDSU faculty since 2012 and is recognized throughout the region as a distinguished performer and educator.
The concert will also feature three movements from Antonín Dvořák’s American Suite, a work composed during the Czech master’s years in the United States. The performance will be presented as part of a weeklong residency and series of events in collaboration with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra that explores Dvořák’s American experience and musical legacy.
Adding historical perspective will be New York-based cultural historian Joseph Horowitz. Horowitz is one of America’s leading writers on cultural history, and his remarks will provide audiences with insight into the work’s historical and artistic significance.
“The title ‘Hidden Gems’ reflects our desire to bring attention to wonderful music that audiences may not know but are sure to enjoy,” Civic Symphony conductor David Reynolds said.
For more information, contact SDSU’s School of Performing Arts at 605-688-5187.
About South Dakota State University
Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 230 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 41 master’s degree programs, 19 Ph.D. and two professional programs.
The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state. SDSU’s research expenditures for the 2026 fiscal year were more than $86 million. SDSU has a Doctoral University: High Research Activity designation on The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
For more information:SDSU News • www.sdstate.edu
— From SDSU University Marketing and Communications
