Valentine's Gala

Accompanying the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's Valentine's Day concert will be the second annual Valentine's Gala in the Gold Room of the Hotel Blackhawk in downtown Davenport. The event will provide a full slate of romantic entertainment for Quad-Citians looking to celebrate Valentine's Day in style.

The Valentine's Gala begins at held 5:00 p.m., on Saturday, February 9, at the Hotel Blackhawk, 200 E. 3rd St., Davenport, Iowa. Black tie is optional. Guests can enjoy hosted beer and wine, delicious appetizers, and browse the silent auction items.

At 6:00 p.m. guests will enjoy a gourmet dinner accompanied by live music. Then, at 7:30 p.m., the festivities move to the nearby Adler Theatre for the Valentine's Day Concert featuring the swing-era stylings Five by Design performing with the QCSO.

After the concert, guests can return to the Gold Room to dance to more music from Five by Design in a more intimate setting. Guests can also partake of delectable desserts, visit the hosted bar, and enjoy the live music until the silent auction concludes at 11:00 p.m.

To take part in this elegant evening of music and romance, call the Quad City Symphony Orchestra Box Office at 563-322-QCSO (7276) or click here to order online.

Youth String Ensemble to perform at CASI

The Quad City Youth String Ensemble, directed by Dortha DeWit, will present a Community Concert on Sunday, January 13, at 2:00 p.m. at the Center For Active Seniors Inc. CASI is located at 1035 W. Kimberly Road, Davenport. This concert is a free, general admission performance. We hope you're able to come see these talented student musicians.

Valentine's Day concert to feature Five by Design

Don't miss this Valentine's Day treat featuring symphonic dances and swing-era favorites such as It Don't Mean a Thing, In The Mood, and more of your swing-era favorites from Five By Design. This symphonic celebration also features romantic favorites from Bernstein's West Side Story and Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. This evening of music is sure to get your heart racing and your feet tapping.

To buy your tickets, call 563.322.0931 or simply click here to order online.

The Valentine's Gala is sponsored by KWQC-HD News 6, Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, Necker's Jewelers, the Planning Center, Ron's Toy Box, and the Sedona Group.

Also:

Masterworks 4

Valentine's Day

Saturday, February 9

7:30 p.m.

Adler Theatre, Davenport

Get tickets here

Masterworks 4

Valentine's Day

Sunday, February 10

2:00 p.m.

Centennial Hall,
Augustana College, Rock Island

Get tickets here

Start your weekend with a warm bowl of chili and a room full of celli. Tonight, November 30 at 5:00 p.m., cellists from around the Quad Cities will be gathering at the RME, along with guest principal cellist Nathaniel Yaffe of the Minnesota Orchestra, Conductor Mark Russell Smith, and other members of the QCSO cello section for a chili dinner and cello performance.

Chili will be available at 5:00 p.m., with the music beginning at 5:30. This event is free to the public and everyone is invited. Cellists, bring your instrument and a music stand.

The chili will be provided by Volunteers for Symphony and drinks will be for sale at the RME Café. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Rebecca Swartz, Education and Youth Ensemble Coordinator, at 563.322.0931.

For the second concert of this year's Masterworks season, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra is performing a collection of concert hall favorites from incomparable composers Mozart and Beethoven: the Overture to The Magic Flute, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, and Beethoven's "Pastorale" Symphony. These concerts will be performed on November 3 and 4 and are sponsored by the Charles B. Preacher Foundation. Saturday evening's concert will be held at the Adler Theatre in Davenport at 7:30 p.m. and followed on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Centennial Hall, Augustana College, in Rock Island. Tickets for this concert can be purchased in person at the QCSO Box Office, 327 Brady Street in Davenport, by phone at 800.745.3000, or online at www.qcsymphony.com.

Burt Hara has been the Minnesota Orchestra's principal clarinet for 24 years and has drawn acclaim for his solo appearances in works of Bernstein, Copland, Debussy, Nielsen, Weber and others, as well as his many chamber performances. In recent seasons he has been featured on Orchestra programs playing Messiaen's Abyss of the Birds, from Quartet for the End of Time, Copland's Clarinet Concerto, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante, Bernstein's Clarinet Sonata, and Crusell's Second Clarinet Concerto. Before his appointment in Minnesota, Hara was principal clarinet of the Alabama Symphony. An active chamber musician, Hara has performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Pensacola Chamber Festival, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards, Salt Bay Chamberfest, and La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, as well as the Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest.

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is excited to provide Inside the Music at the hip and historic Hotel Blackhawk. The lectures series will still be held on the Thursday previous to each Masterworks program at 5:30 p.m. Doors will open at 5 p.m. with free hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar available.

Music Director Mark Russell Smith will also be available at Kai Swanson's Concert Conversations, held in the concert hall an hour before each of the weekend's concerts. At Concert Conversations the audience members will be led through highlights of the program they are about to experience. This look into the background of the concert's repertoire, sponsored by Rich James of Wells Fargo Advisors, is in its fifteenth year and has become an audience favorite.

After the Saturday night performance, the audience is invited to mingle with the musicians of the QCSO, Mark Russell Smith, and Burt Hara in the lobby of the Hotel Blackhawk at Afterglow. The evening includes free hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. The November Afterglow is sponsored by Jane Chiappinelli, DDS.

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Quad City Arts kick off the season on November 17 with an extravaganza featuring electric violinist Mark Wood, founding member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Quad City Arts Visiting Artist. Conductor Michael Gagliardo leads a cast of local talent like never before assembled, including the Quad City Symphony Orchestra; the Sanctuary Choir of First Presbyterian Church, Davenport; the Holiday Pops Children's Chorus; and for the first time ever, the Holiday Pops Youth Ochestra. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the i wireless Center with the holiday favorites you've come to expect, mixed with many of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's greatest hits.

Tickets go on sale Monday, October 8, at the i wireless Center box office, by phone at 800.745.3000, or online at www.qcsymphony.com. One dollar from every ticket will benefit the Genesis Music Therapy Programs.

Holiday Pops is sponsored by John Deere.