Rolling Hills Music Festival

Rolling Hills Music Festival Homegrown classical music in the heart of Iowa
August 6-9, 2026 | Ames

Speaking of numbers... there's exactly ONE month until the FIRST ever Rolling Hills Music Festival kicks off in Ames, Io...
07/06/2026

Speaking of numbers... there's exactly ONE month until the FIRST ever Rolling Hills Music Festival kicks off in Ames, Iowa!

We're presenting a full weekend of homegrown classical music between August 6 and 9, and we couldn't be more excited.

All of our events are either free or low cost with discounted options for students, seniors, and lower income folks. Bottom line, we want you to join us! Because music really is best when shared.

Have any questions about the festival? Leave a comment or shoot us a message!

We didn't want to create a music festival that could happen anywhere. We wanted to create something specific to our comm...
07/04/2026

We didn't want to create a music festival that could happen anywhere. We wanted to create something specific to our community.

The result? Rolling Hills Music Festival, a weekend of homegrown classical music in Ames, Iowa.

Whether you're a local or passing through, we hope you'll join us August 6-9.

Tickets available now at rollinghillsmusicia.com 💚

It's unequivocally summer, which means that Rolling Hills Music Festival is right around the corner! Our weekend of home...
07/01/2026

It's unequivocally summer, which means that Rolling Hills Music Festival is right around the corner! Our weekend of homegrown classical music in Ames includes 5 unique events — from contemporary works by regional composers to a community play-along. Will we see you there?

TODAY ONLY: Every donation made to Rolling Hills Chamber Music — regardless of the amount — increases our chances to rec...
05/08/2026

TODAY ONLY: Every donation made to Rolling Hills Chamber Music — regardless of the amount — increases our chances to receive $1,000 in extra funding from our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas!

Every donation = 1 more chance for us to get the match. Even if you give as little as just ONE DOLLAR.

With three months to go until our festival, this is the ideal opportunity to support Ames' one and only chamber music festival.

Make your donation on May 8, before the Spring Match clock runs out: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/rolling-hills-chamber-music/general_support

Thank you!

Did you know the puppets from The Sound of Music live in Iowa? (Yes, THE puppets from the 1965 film starring Julie Andre...
03/18/2026

Did you know the puppets from The Sound of Music live in Iowa?

(Yes, THE puppets from the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews!)

They were created by Bil Baird, an acclaimed 20th-century puppeteer who grew up in Mason City, Iowa. Today, these artifacts of musical theater history can be viewed at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, home to the largest public collection of his work.

Bil Baird's love of puppetry was sparked as a child growing up in Iowa. His career included opening his own puppet theater, designing a float for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, numerous exhibits and worldwide tours, an Emmy nomination, and even writing the music and lyrics (another music connection!) for an original puppet production.

He passed away on this day 39 years ago -- on March 18, 1987.

📍If you're ever near north-central Iowa, be sure to stop by the MacNider Art Museum to see these puppets (and lots of other great art).

Make it a day trip:
- 1.5 hrs from Ames
- 2 hrs from Des Moines
- 2 hrs from Minneapolis
- 2.5 hrs from Cedar Rapids
- 3 hrs from Iowa City

We are so excited to present a concert with Iowa Composers Forum at our inaugural festival this summer! Celebrating the ...
03/15/2026

We are so excited to present a concert with Iowa Composers Forum at our inaugural festival this summer! Celebrating the art and artists of Iowa is the common thread through every element of our programming, so collaborating with this longtime organization dedicated to promoting new music in Iowa feels like the perfect fit.

Members of ICF can submit scores for consideration by April 30. More information about ICF and the full call for scores can be found at iowacomposersforum.org.

Be sure to mark your calendars for this one-time performance on Saturday, August 8 in Ames! More details about this concert, and our entire weekend festival, coming soon.

Not only is today but March is both Women's History Month AND Iowa History Month! So, it's the perfect time to highlig...
03/08/2026

Not only is today but March is both Women's History Month AND Iowa History Month! So, it's the perfect time to highlight just *some* of the women composers from Iowa's past and present.

Is there someone we didn't include that you want to shout out? Leave a comment so we can all get to know even more women composers from Iowa 🎼

📌 Mark your calendars, folks! Rolling Hills Chamber Music's inaugural festival will take place August 6-8, 2026 in beaut...
03/06/2026

📌 Mark your calendars, folks! Rolling Hills Chamber Music's inaugural festival will take place August 6-8, 2026 in beautiful Ames, Iowa. We hope to see you all there!

Official season announcement coming soon...

That's a wrap on our first crowdfunding campaign! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who contributed, helping u...
03/06/2026

That's a wrap on our first crowdfunding campaign! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who contributed, helping us raise nearly $3.5K to pay our artists in 2026.

If you missed the window to join the campaign, you can still donate on our general support page anytime: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/rolling-hills-chamber-music/general_support

Stay tuned for exciting information about our inaugural summer chamber music festival very soon!

The crazy part is, nobody asked us to do this 🙃 It's a lot of work building a music festival from scratch (as a one-pers...
03/03/2026

The crazy part is, nobody asked us to do this 🙃 It's a lot of work building a music festival from scratch (as a one-person operation no less) but come August, it'll all be worth it. Grateful for every person who has followed, donated, or shared words of support so far -- thanks for being here!

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