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Ticket Price$125+
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Duration2.5 Hours
- Thursday, September 24, 2026 5:30PM — Willow on Grand Tickets →
An Evening with Harry Smith: His Reflections on America at 250
For nearly forty years, Harry Smith brought the world to American living rooms. As an anchor and correspondent for CBS News and NBC News, he interviewed presidents and world leaders, covered history as it happened, and found the extraordinary in the lives of ordinary people.
He came to it by way of Pella. A 1973 graduate of Central College, where he studied communications and theater, Smith returned to Iowa in 2024 and serves today as executive in residence at his alma mater, teaching a course on curiosity.
In September, he lends that voice to the Des Moines Symphony, narrating Peter Boyer's American Mosaic as the nation marks its 250th year.
Join us on September 24 for dinner and conversation with the man behind the narration. Then hear him on stage September 26 and 27.
Event Details
THU SEP 24
5:30 – 8:00pm
Willow on Grand
6011 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312
Event Tickets
- Patron Host Table Sponsor | $1,500
Eight seats with digital and printed recognition - Individual Seat | $150
- Young Professional, under 40 | $125
Kindly respond by Tuesday, September 15. Click here to purchase concert tickets (sold separately).
The Des Moines Symphony & Academy is a 501(c)(3) organization. All proceeds further our mission to create extraordinary, live musical experiences and outstanding educational opportunities.
Des Moines Symphony Season Debut Concert: American Mosaic & West Side Story
SEP 26 & 27 | Civic Center
Celebrate America's 250th anniversary in an unforgettable evening. Kevin Puts's Heartland and Iowa composer Linda Robbins Coleman's In Good King Charles's Golden Days set the stage for Peter Boyer's sweeping American Mosaic, with historic narration by Harry Smith and the photography and video art of Joe Sohm projected on a giant screen above the Orchestra. The Harlem Quartet brings Michael Abels's Urban Legends to life before Bernstein's electrifying Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
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- Harry Smith Guest Narrator Bio
Harry Smith Guest Narrator
One of television’s most distinguished journalists, Harry Smith has been a news anchor for more than 30 years. Before joining NBC News, he hosted the CBS News morning shows The Early Show and its predecessor CBS This Morning for 17 years. Harry Smith was named Correspondent, Rock Center with Brian Williams in July 2011.
Smith served as a senior correspondent for CBS News and substitute anchors for the CBS Evening News, Face the Nation and CBS News Sunday Morning. He also hosted the A&E series Biography.
Smith began his broadcasting career at Denver radio stations KHOW and KIMN and Cincinnati radio station WLW (1973–81). From 1981-82, he worked for Denver's public television station, KRMA-TV. From 1982-85, he served as a reporter and anchor for KMGH-TV, the CBS affiliate in Denver. In 1986, Smith joined CBS News as a reporter and was named a correspondent in 1987.
He received his B.A. degree in Communications and Theater from Central College in Pella, Iowa. Smith lives in New York City with his wife, sportscaster Andrea Joyce, and their two sons.
