Cellist on the roof: Camille Thomas plays Camille Saint-Saens this weekend with the Des Moines Symphony. Photo: Dan Carabas.
One of the world’s best cellists, the Franco-Belgian star Camille Thomas, comes to town this week to headline two concerts with the Des Moines Symphony. She’ll play Camille Saint-Saens’ cello concerto — one of the greats — in an all-French program that includes work by Berlioz and Lili Boulanger, plus Offenbach’s high-kicking can-can. And if you just can’t-can’t wait, tune in tonight for an online preview talk with Eric McIntyre from Grinnell College and a master class Friday at Drake with Thomas and three local cello students.
See the “April in Paris” concerts Saturday at 7:30 p.m. or Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
This week the symphony also announced its wide-ranging lineup for the 2023-2024 season, which features violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, conductor Keith Lockhart and the BRKFAST Dance Company, among others. The pops series includes a night with Broadway star Renee Elise Goldsberry (who won a Tony as Angelica Schuyler in “Hamilton”), plus tributes to Abba, the Eagles and much, much more.