Iowa Cello Daze, an annual celebration for performers and fans of the violoncello, will be hosted by the University of Iowa School of Music Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 26-27.

All the Daze events are free and open to the public, including:

• A lecture/performance by Aron Zelkowicz on Britten Solo Cello Suites at 1 p.m. Oct. 26, in Music West on the UI campus.
• A concert featuring Paul Katz and Mark Summer at 8 p.m. Oct. 26 in Riverside Recital Hall.
• A Cello Choir/ensemble performance at 4 p.m. Oct. 27 in Music West.

For a full schedule of events visit the Cello Daze website.

With a broad career as a cellist, performer, teacher, and administrator, Zelkowicz has cultivated a repertoire both familiar and obscure. He serves as the founder and director of the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival, which presents rare and diverse works from Jewish musical traditions to Pittsburgh audiences every spring. For 10 years the festival has featured renowned ensembles and guest artists from the orchestral, chamber, early music, rock, and world music genres in innovative and thematic programs.

Katz is known to concertgoers the world over as cellist of the Cleveland Quartet, which during an international career of 26 years made more than 2,500 appearances on four continents, in all of the music capitals, great concert halls, and music festivals of the world. As a member of this celebrated ensemble from 1969-1995, he performed at the White House and on many television shows including CBS Sunday Morning, NBC’s Today Show, The Grammy Awards (in 1973, the first classical musicians ever to appear on that show,) and was seen in In The Mainstream: The Cleveland Quartet, a one-hour documentary televised across the U.S. and Canada.

Summer is a founding member of Turtle Island and is widely regarded, thanks not least to his phenomenal percussion and pizzicato techniques, as one of the outstanding cellists of our time. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a recipient of their 2007 Distinguished Alumni award, Summer was a tenured member of the Winnipeg Symphony for three years, before leaving the orchestra to perform in several Canadian contemporary and Baroque ensembles, as well as his own group, The West-End String Band.

Cello Daze is organized by Anthony Arnone, associate professor of cello.

The School of Music is part of the Division of Performing Arts in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend the concert, contact the School of Music in advance at 319-335-1603.

For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events visit the Arts Iowa website.