Live from the Temple Dance, Rhythm, & Blues

Joseph Giunta Conductor

One of America’s most distinguished, versatile and dynamic conductors, Joseph Giunta is a musician of international acclaim. He is recognized as an important American conductor for his innovative programming and for his compelling interpretations of traditional and new music. His musical depth combined with his boundless energy and contagious enthusiasm makes him one of the most respected and successful orchestra leaders in the United States.

Learn More About Maestro Giunta

Jonathan Sturm Violin

Dr. Jonathan Sturm has been Concertmaster of the Des Moines Symphony since 1991. Now, in his 31st season in 2021-22, he is the longest-serving concertmaster in the Orchestra’s history. He has appeared as a soloist with the Orchestra nine times. Besides his violin performing, Jonathan is also world-touring violist, and for 19 years he performed as violist in the Ames Piano Quartet with concerts in Russia, Cuba, South Africa, and across the United States and Canada. He has been heard on St. Paul Sunday and Performance Today radio broadcasts and has recorded 11 compact discs on labels including Dorian, Sono Luminus, Fleur de Son, and Albany. His audio/video project entitled Fire and Romance—on which he arranged, conducted, performed, produced and edited solo and accompanied violin repertoire—was a silver medal winner in the Global Music Awards in 2014.

Jonathan Sturm has taught private lessons to numerous violin and viola students in Central Iowa many of whom have won regional competitions and continued their studies at reputed conservatories of music. He was the recipient of the Iowa String Teacher Association’s Leopold LaFosse outstanding studio teacher award in 2018. 

Dr. Sturm has presented at numerous conferences and at universities on music success strategies, financial planning for musicians, assessment tools for the private lesson, stage fright, performing with new colleagues, and Baroque performance practice. His articles in peer-reviewed journals range from violin pedagogy to higher education administration. A Professor of Music at Iowa State University, he was the recipient of an outstanding teaching award in 2009 and an outstanding service award in 2017, and he has served as President of the Iowa State University Faculty Senate twice, in 2016 and 2019.

Dr. Sturm first became a professional orchestra musician at age 15, joining the second violins of the Norfolk (Virginia) Symphony, which has since become the Virginia Symphony. His professional training came from Oberlin Conservatory, The Eastman School of Music, and Indiana University, where he studied with renowned concertmaster Josef Gingold. Prior to assuming the concertmaster chair in Des Moines, Jonathan Sturm was acting concertmaster of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Nicholas Roth Piano

Nicholas Roth began formal studies at age twelve, receiving critical acclaim for his appearances by the age of eighteen. He appeared as soloist with the St. Louis Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony under Raymond Leppard, among many others. Roth is a featured performer and teacher throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He is a Yamaha Artist, a Beethoven Fellow of the American Pianists Association, earned prizes in the chamber music competitions of Tortona and Pietra Ligure, Italy, and received a DAAD grant to further his studies in Germany.

Dr. Roth holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University, Artist Diplomas in solo piano performance and art song collaboration from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, and Masters' and Bachelor's degrees from Indiana University, where he was also the recipient of the Jacobs School of Music's highest honors, including the Performer’s Certificate and the Joseph Battista Memorial Scholarship. He studied with Ralph Votapek, Elisso Virsaladze, Helmut Deutsch, Edward Auer, Emilio del Rosario, and Michel Block.

Dr. Roth has taught masterclasses at Indiana University, SoundSCAPE Festival in Italy, Isidor Bajić School of Music in Serbia, Conservatorio Superior Nacional de Musica in Quito, Ecuador, International Beethoven Festival in Chicago, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Chicago and many other schools in the USA.

He was a presenter for the European Piano Teachers Association World Piano Conference in Serbia and is an Accreditation Examiner with distinction (Diploma of Excellence) for the World Piano Teachers Association. A Nationally Certified Teacher of the Music Teachers National Association, he is a frequent presenter, adjudicator and administrator for MTNA events.

Dr. Roth was honored by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana for his "contribution to the performing arts, his accomplishments as a concert pianist, and his inspiration to young musicians." He has presented master classes and concerts at Minzu University, Beijing Normal University and Art Education School of Huaxi in China as well as Pusan National University in South Korea. He has also taught for the Edward Auer Summer Piano Workshop at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University and the Classical Music Festival Piano Seminar in Eisenstadt (Austria). Since 2017, Dr. Roth has served on the faculty of the Ono Zone International Music Festival in Quito, Ecuador.

Nicholas Roth is Professor of Piano at Drake University. Previous appointments include the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and Alma College. He has recorded for the Blue Griffin, Naxos, MSR Classics & Innova recording labels. His recordings with Blue Griffin have garnered exceptional reviews from International Record Review, Gramophone, Fanfare, and American Record Guide.

Dr. Roth recently participated in a performance of the Hexaméron for six pianos and orchestra in Baku, Azerbaijan. He was a featured guest on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, and collaborated with Robert Spano in a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Dr. Roth is the founder of the Drake University Keys to Excellence Piano Series, featuring renowned artists from all over the world.

Aaron Williams Percussion

Aaron Williams serves as Principal Percussionist with the Des Moines Symphony and the Quad City Symphony. He has also held the positions of Principal Percussionist with the Mansfield Symphony (Mansfield, OH) and Section Percussionist with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony.

Concurrently, Aaron is also an active freelance percussionist. He has performed with the Kansas City Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Wichita Symphony, Orchestra Iowa (Cedar Rapids, IA), Buffalo Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, West Virginia Symphony, and the New World Symphony, among others.

Additional orchestral engagements have lead Aaron to performances on three other continents. He performed with the Rome Festival Orchestra in Rome, Italy.  He toured China with the Oberlin Orchestra, giving concerts in Beijing and Shanghai, among other cities.  He also performed with the Orquestra de Professores at the Festival de Música de Santa Catarina in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil.

As a soloist, Aaron has performed David Gillingham’s Marimba Concerto No. 2 with the Des Moines Symphony, Antonio Vivaldi’s Mandolin Concerto in C Major (marimba) with the Fort Dodge Area Symphony (Fort Dodge, IA), Áskell Másson’s Konzertstück for Snare Drum and Orchestra with the Firelands Symphony (Sandusky, OH), and Paul Creston’s Concertino for Marimba and Orchestra with the Quincy Symphony (Quincy, IL). During the summer, Aaron performs on the steps of the Iowa State Capitol with the Des Moines Metro Concert Band and has been featured as a soloist with the band.

Having great enthusiasm for contemporary chamber music, Aaron served as Artistic Director and percussionist for “Rhythm Unleashed: The Music of Marc Mellits”, a concert on the Quad City Symphony’s Signature Series. In Des Moines, he collaborated with organist Tin-Shi Tam to give the U.S. premieres of two duets for organ and percussion: Phaikon 493 by Leander Kaiser and The Shining City by JacobTV.  He has performed on Chamber Music at Salisbury House (Des Moines, IA) and the Des Moines Symphony’s Spotlight at the Temple.

Aaron resides in Des Moines, IA where he maintains a private teaching studio and is on the faculty of the Des Moines Symphony Academy. He is also the Director of Operations for the Des Moines Symphony.  He has a Master of Music degree from Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.  He received his high school diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy.  His former teachers include Tom Freer, Michael Rosen, John Alfieri, Keith Aleo, and Dr. Donna Bohn.

Aaron is a Performing Artist for the Pearl Corporation and Adams Musical Instruments.