Join us for our 2025-26 season!​

All concerts take place at 2 p.m. in the Narthex of St. Paul's Lutheran Church & School, located at 301 1st St. NW in Waverly, IA.
Free admission for all shows.

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Lux String Quartet
​Oct. 19, 2025

Lux String Quartet, a Twin Cities–based ensemble, brings dynamic energy to both performance and education. Since 2013, they’ve performed in venues ranging from concert halls to coffee shops, and are known for championing 20th and 21st-century repertoire, including works by living composers like David Evan Thomas and David Ludwig. Their collaborations span local and international artists, including a 2024–25 season premiere of Confessions of a Pangolin by Nicholas Vines, the first piece written specifically for them. Regulars in concert series like the Waverly Chamber Music Series and the Schubert Club Courtroom Concerts, Lux is also deeply committed to music education, presenting workshops and recitals in schools and serving as quartet-in-residence at the Colorado Chamber Music Institute. This winter, they earned First Prize at the Charleston International Music Competition.

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Madeline Rogers
​Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025

​Originally from Eldorado, IL, Dr. Madeline Rogers is an accomplished pianist, educator, and advocate for living composers. She holds degrees from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with André Watts, and the University of Nebraska, where she earned her DMA with Dr. Paul Barnes. Rogers has performed across the U.S. and internationally, including recitals in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Vietnam, and a multi-orchestra tour for the 100th anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue. She champions underrepresented composers, having revived works by Victoria Bond and H. Leslie Adams, and regularly performs with her piano trio, Trio Risoluto. A dedicated teacher since 2010, she is currently Assistant Professor of Keyboard Studies at Berea College and serves as Co-Artistic Director of AmadeusLex, a nonprofit bringing classical music to Kentucky’s Bluegrass region.

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Have an OK Christmas
Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025

Playful and unexpected, new-classical crossover duo The OK Factor writes and performs folk-inspired music influenced by multiple genres and styles, with an artistry that reveals their classical training. Cellist Olivia Diercks and violinist Karla Peters find great joy in defying expectations and delivering an experience outside of what audiences anticipate from a cello and violin combo. Their passion for performing and educational outreach has continued to bring them success in communities across the Midwest and abroad, inviting audiences to explore music and cultivate a curiosity about its role in their lives. 

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Ancient Lives: Voices from Heian Japan
Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026

Blending the music and texts of ancient Japan, Joyce Boss and Eric Wachmann will present a performance featuring readings of poems and writings from the Heian Period of Japan (800-1000 AD) combined with meditative Honkyoku performed on the shakuhachi. Writers including Emperor Jomei ("Heavenly Mount Kagu"), Sei Shonagon ("A preacher should be good-looking"), and Ōtomo no Tabito ("Thirteen poems in praise of wine"_ will be featured alongside traditional works from the Suizen (blowing zen) branch of Zen Buddhism.

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The Neave Trio
Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026

Since forming in 2010, Grammy-nominated Neave Trio—violinist Anna Williams, Cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura—has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. New York's classical music radio station WQXR explains, "'Neave' is actually a Gaelic name meaning 'bright' and 'radiant', both of which certainly apply to this trio's music making." Gramophone has praised the trio's "taut and vivid interpretations," while The Strad calls out their "eloquent phrasing and deft control of textures" and BBC Music Magazine describes their performances as balancing "passion with sensitivity and grace."

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Boston Trio
Sunday, March 22, 2026

​Praised by The Boston Globe as a must-hear ensemble, the Boston Trio—violinist Irina Muresanu, cellist Jonah Ellsworth, and pianist Heng-Jin Park—has earned acclaim for its exceptional ensemble playing and dynamic interpretations of both classical and contemporary repertoire. Each member enjoys an accomplished solo and chamber music career, having performed with major orchestras and at premier festivals worldwide. The Trio has appeared at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall, and the Newport Classical Music Festival, where they premiered a commissioned work by Stacy Garrop. Their commitment to new music is reflected in numerous premieres of works written for them, and their latest recording, Elegy and Blue, was released on the Centaur label. Dedicated educators, they serve on the faculties of leading institutions such as the New England Conservatory and MIT, and regularly engage in outreach and residencies at schools and festivals across the U.S. and abroad.

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​The 2024-25 WCMS season is supported in part by the Max & Helen Guernsey Charitable Foundation.