MUSCATINE, Iowa — The Muscatine Symphony Orchestra is ready to swing to the style of one of America’s most loved musical eras this Valentine’s Day, Saturday, Feb. 14.

The Symphony’s third annual Delicious Combinations event, part of the Symphony’s Masterworks II concert series, is themed Heartbeats and Swing this year, includes dinner and music from the early American jazz era.

“I would encourage lovers of jazz, dance or symphony orchestras to come out and join us,” said symphony conductor Brian Dollinger.

Dick Marr, president of the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra Association, said he is pleased with Dollinger’s choice of music.

“This is such a high quality of music,” said Marr. “This will be a class event.”

The music begins at dinner in the new Central Middle School cafeteria, which will be catered by Muscatine’s A Guy and a Grill.

Dan Warschauer, chairman of the Symphony Guild, said Three Guys with Soule, the Muscatine barbershop quartet he performs with, will sing during  dinner. 

Pianist Earle Johnson of the Josh Duffee Orchestra, another featured act of the evening, will play original piano compositions by Davenport jazz pioneer Bix Beiderbecke and other 1920’s jazz music.

 After dinner, the audience can move into the Central Middle School auditorium, also known as Muscatine’s Center for the Performing Arts, for the concert.

 Josh Duffee and his 14-piece orchestra will join the Symphony to perform the music of Jean Goldkette’s Orchestra, a premiere jazz orchestra of the 1920s.

 Duffee, 29, of Davenport, said he appreciates Goldkette’s style and his connection to  Beiderbecke, who performed with the Jean Goldkette Victor Recording Band.

He said the Valentine’s Day concert includes a tribute to jazz orchestra conductor Paul Whiteman, who in 1928 staged a performance where his orchestra was joined by a symphony orchestra string section.

In the first part of the Valentine’s Day concert, the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra’s string section will join Duffee’s orchestra. More members of the Symphony will be added as the concert continues, said Duffee.

The jazz music of the 1920s was popular during the Great Depression said Duffee, because the happy tunes helped them forget their troubles. He said that music may have the same effect on today’s audiences.

The Symphony will also perform works made famous by Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong, and the compositions of Henry Mancini and others, said Dollinger.

“Typically, a Valentine’s concert would involve the ‘Romeo and Juliet’s Romantic Symphony’ by Howard Hanson and love arias from famous operas,” said Dollinger. “But this year, I thought of a different way to enjoy the love of your life — The era of Big Band and early jazz has some of the most heartwarming and familiar tunes to ignite passion, love, and memories of youthful bliss.”