The Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) invites you to its 108th Season – The Triumphant Spirit – featuring six dynamic Masterworks, the 40th Anniversary of Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops, two QCSO at the Movies presentations, five intimate Up Close chamber concerts, and several special events.
“Our concerts this season feature the extraordinary talent within our orchestra including concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, principal cellist Hannah Holman, principal bassoonist Benjamin Coelho, principal flutist Jessica Warren, and principal percussionist Aaron Williams,” said QCSO Music Director Mark Russell Smith. “We are also thrilled to welcome back beloved guest artists pianist Wei Luo and violinist Bella Hristova, plus the premiere of the co-commissioned Guitar Concerto by Michael Abels featuring virtuoso guitarist Mak Grgić.”
“It is a true “Ode to Joy” to open our season with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony where our amazing orchestra will be joined by a massive choir and four incredible vocal soloists,” said QCSO Executive Director Brian Baxter. “We are also thrilled to continue our QCSO at the Movies series with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix™ in Concert paired with the beloved 1991 animated classic Disney’s Beauty and the Beast™ in concert.“
This summer’s Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops in Davenport’s LeClaire Park will be celebrating 40 years of this popular event. To mark the occasion, the QCSO will be joined by a choir to present a Symphonic Celebration of the Music of Elton John. Attendees will rock out to Elton’s greatest hits including “Rocket Man,” “Madman Across the Water,” “Tiny Dancer,” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me!”
QCSO Masterworks performances are held on Saturday evenings at the Adler Theatre, 136 E. 3rd St., Davenport, IA, and Sunday afternoons at Centennial Hall, Augustana College, 3703 7th Ave., Rock Island, IL unless otherwise noted. The following works are scheduled for the 2022-2023 Season:
MASTERWORKS SERIES
All Masterworks Concerts sponsored in part by the Regional Development Authority, Illinois Arts Council, Iowa Arts Council, and National Endowment for the Arts
Masterwork I: Ode to Joy
Saturday, October 1, 2022, 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 2, 2022, 2:00 pm
Karen Slack, soprano
Katherine Pracht, mezzo-soprano
Richard Trey Smagur, tenor
Aleksey Bogdanov, baritone
Augustana Oratorio Society & Choral Artists, Jon Hurty, director
JONATHAN BAILEY HOLLAND Ode
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125
Masterworks II: Fit for a King
Saturday, November 5, 2022, 7:30 pm
Sunday, November 6, 2022, 2:00 pm
Hannah Holman, cello
Benjamin Coelho, bassoon
DUKE ELLINGTON The Three Black Kings
ERNEST BLOCH Schelomo: Hebraic Rhapsody
MICHAEL DAUGHERTY Dead Elvis
JOHANN STRAUSS, JR. Emperor Waltz, Op. 437
WILLIAM WALTON Henry V: Suite
Presented as part of Out of Darkness: Holocaust Messages for Today
Masterworks III: Ode to Guitar
Saturday, December 3, 2022, 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 4, 2022, 2:00 pm (Adler Theatre)
Mak Grgić, guitar
Jim Niedelman, narrator
GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN Ouverture burlesque de Quichotte
MICHAEL ABELS Guitar Concerto co-commission
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Divertimento No. 1, K. 113
ALBERTO GINASTERA Variaciones concertantes, Op. 23
Masterworks IV: Bella & Brahms
Saturday, February 4, 2023, 7:30 pm
Sunday, February 5, 2023, 2:00 pm
Bella Hristova, violin
RICHARD WAGNER Rienzi Overture, WWV 49
JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F, Op. 90
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77
Masterworks V: Fierce Females
Saturday, March 4, 2023, 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 5, 2023, 2:00 pm
Wei Luo, piano
JOAN TOWER Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman
LOUISE FARRENC Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 36
FLORENCE PRICE Excerpt from The Mississippi River
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 16
Presented in partnership with the Figge Art Museum
Masterworks VI: Mahler One
Saturday, April 1, 2023, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 2, 2023, 2:00 pm
Naha Greenholtz, violin
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 19
GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D, “Titan”
POPS SERIES
Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops
A Symphonic Celebration of the Music of Elton John
Saturday, August 20, 2022, 7:30 pm, LeClaire Park
Sponsored by Quad City Bank & Trust
produced by Jeans ‘N Classics
Ernesto Estigarribia, conductor
Jean Meilleur, vocals
John Regan, vocals and piano
The Party of the Summer is turning 40! Celebrate with us along the banks of the Mississippi with a choir-enhanced symphonic celebration of the Music of Elton John. Rock to Elton’s greatest hits including “Rocket Man,” “Madman Across the Water,” “Tiny Dancer,” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me!” This spectacular event closes with our traditional renditions of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever set to a brilliant fireworks display.
QCSO At the Movies:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix™ in Concert
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm, Adler TheatrePart of the Harry Potter™ Film Concert Series brought to you by CineConcerts
Ernesto Estigarribia, conductor
You-Know-Who™ is not the only one who has returned—Harry Potter™, Ron Weasley™, and Hermione Granger™ are back as well in this unforgettable concert event. Relive the magic with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix™ displayed on a giant screen in high-definition and accompanied by the QCSO. See Harry and his friends race through the Department of Mysteries, practice Defense Against the Dark Arts in secret, and endure Professor Umbridge™—all with Nicholas Hooper’s iconic score!
HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are © & ™ WBEI. WIZARDING WORLD trademark and logo © & ™ WBEI. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s22)
QCSO at the Movies:
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast™ in Concert
Saturday, May 13, 2023, 2:00 pm, Adler Theatre
Ernesto Estigarribia, conductor
Nathan Windt, conductor
“Be Our Guest” and experience Disney’s Beauty and the Beast like never before! In a “tale as old as time” Belle’s love must save the cursed prince and his entire castle from eternal enchantment. Watch this timeless animated classic in its entirety as the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and chorus performs every note of Alan Menken’s Oscar®-winning score, including favorite songs “Belle,” “Something There,” “Gaston,” and “Beauty and the Beast.”
Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts. © All rights reserved.
UP CLOSE
Chamber Music Series
Sunday, September 11, 2022, 2:00 pm, Redstone Room, River Music Experience
Mak Grgić, guitar & Emily Nash and Sabrina Tabby, violins, Bruno vaz da Silva, viola, Hannah Holman, cello
Enjoy an afternoon with guitarist Mak Grgić before he joins the QCSO as guest soloist on Masterworks III: Ode to Guitar. The program begins with selections from his album Cinema Verismoa, which features originals and adaptations of beloved music featured in famous movies from the past few decades. The QCSO String Quartet joins for the second half to perform Luigi Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet No. 4, “Fandango” and Mak Grgić’s own Balkan Suite which is inspired by tunes from the Balkan Peninsula.
Saturday, January 28, 2023, 7:30 pm, Butterworth Center
Naha Greenholtz, violin & Aaron Williams, percussion
works by Wynton Marsalis, Sergei Prokofiev, Chen Yi, Paul Lansky, & William Campbell
Saturday, February 11, 2023, 7:30 pm, Raccoon Motel
Jinty McTavish, violin, Sabrina Tabby, violin, Rita Andrade, viola, & Genevieve Tabby, cello
Rock out with this talented, crossover string quartet that is lauded for their passionate and dynamic performances, signature sound, and their mesmerizing and interactive concert experiences.
Up Close with the Figge, Women in Music
Saturday, March 25, 2023, 7:30 pm, Figge Art Museum
Hannah Holman, cello, Marian Lee, piano, & QCSO String Quartet
In honor of the Figge’s Major exhibit Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960, join us for an evening at the museum celebrating women in music. The first half of the program will feature QCSO principal cellist Hannah Holman presenting and performing works by and inspired by influential women cellists. On the second half, Hannah will be joined by pianist Marian Lee and the QCSO String Quartet to perform Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet.
Presented in Partnership with the Figge Art Museum
Sunday, April 16, 2023, 2:00 pm, Figge Art Museum
Jessica Warren, flute, & Kuang-Hao Huang, piano
works by Valerie Coleman, William Grant Still, Gabriela Lena Frank, Cécile Chaminade, & Andrés Sas
SPECIAL EVENTS
Saturday, October 15, 2022, 5:30 pm, Figge Art Museum
Let the roaring 2020s begin with an elegant evening at the Figge! Tickets for this Great Gatsby-inspired event include dinner and performance, plus a paddle raise and live auction with Maestro Mark Russell Smith as your auctioneer to benefit the QCSO’s programs.
Saturday, October 22, 2022, 7:30 pm, Brunner Theatre, Augustana College
Ernesto Estigarribia, conductor
Shelley Cooper, stage director
This moving and emotional two-act chamber opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer is based on the true stories of two Holocaust survivors: In Act I, Krystyna Żywulska, assisted by ghosts of Auschwitz, shares her story of survival with a journalist. In Act II Gad Beck is haunted by his first love, the poet Manfred Lewin, who perished in Auschwitz.
Presented as part of Out of Darkness: Holocaust Messages for Today
Saturday, December 10, 2022, 7:30 pm, Central DeWitt Performing Arts Center
Sunday, December 11, 2022, 3:00 pm, St. Paul Lutheran Church
Chris Nelson, organ
Ring in the holiday season with members of the QCSO Brass and Percussion sections! Under the direction of Maestro Mark Russell Smith, the ensemble is joined by organist Chris Nelson to perform uplifting sections of classical and holiday favorites.
TICKETS
Ticket sales to 2022-23 Season Concerts open first to Subscribers on March 30, 2022, at 7:30 pm. Single Tickets open to the general public on May 17, 2022, at 9:00 am. Quad City Symphony Orchestra tickets are available at the QCSO box office at 327 Brady St., Davenport. You can also call the QCSO at (563) 322-7276 or visit www.qcso.org.