12 Dec 2011

Nova Singers Presents: A Nova Christmas

By Nova Singers
nova-christmas-2011-7625.jpg

Top row: Laura Lane, Keri Bass, Erika Thomas, Curtis Fischer-Oelschlaeger  Bottom row: Joel Kolander

Nova Singers, under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, presents two performances of A Nova Christmas, Friday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, IA, and Saturday, December 17 at 7:30 pm, at First Lutheran Church, Galesburg.

Nova Singers' most popular concert of the year is just around the corner!  This year's program features songs on our newly recorded Christmas CD, including  Lauridsen's captivating O Magnum Mysterium and Moses Hogan's thrilling Glory, Glory, Glory to the Newborn King. We also have several new pieces that will take your breath away, such as Kesselman's arrangement of In the Bleak Midwinter and Stanford Scriven's Christ the Appletree.  These concerts also feature the world premiere of Daniel Godsil's newest Christmas arrangement, Choral Meditation on "Once in Royal David's City." And it wouldn't be A Nova Christmas without an audience sing-along!

A major highlight at these concerts is the release of Nova Singers' newest Christmas CD.  Artistic Director Laura Lane says, "I'm thrilled with our new Christmas CD, Mystery and Light, and can't wait for people to hear it.  I am very proud of the 7 CDs that Nova Singers has professionally recorded, and this eighth one is every bit as good.  In terms of the quality of sound, the expressiveness of the singing and the variety and beauty of the songs themselves, this may be our best one yet!"

Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, hopes to share our musical holiday spirit with you.  Nova Singers is known for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the beauty and charm the singers impart to their music.  Dr. Lane has been serving the greater Galesburg and Quad-Cities communities since 1986, bringing her passion for music and expressive singing to audiences and singers alike.

Tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $16 for adults and $12 for seniors. Students are admitted free of charge. Nova Singers season tickets will still be available through this performance. Season ticket holders receive four concerts for the price of three. For information about group rates, tickets, recordings, or other Nova Singers events, call 309-341-7038, or e-mail nova@knox.edu.  Also, please take the opportunity to visit our Facebook page under the keywords 'Nova Singers.

 

A Nova Christmas is sponsored by Miller Dredge Insurance and the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend.  Nova Singers' 2011-2012 season is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
12 Dec 2011

Local students perform in Augustana College's Messiah

By readMedia

ROCK ISLAND, IL (12/01/2011)(readMedia)-- The Handel Oratorio Society will celebrate its 131st-anniversary performance of Handel's Messiah on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave, Rock Island, Ill.). This special holiday tradition will feature four internationally acclaimed soloists, including the return of renowned soprano Mary Wilson, performing with a professional chamber orchestra and 250 singers from Augustana College and the surrounding community.

From your area this includes:

Kaleigh Wall, a Junior from Eldridge, Ill., majoring in Art.

Lauren Reid, a Senior from Sherrard, Ill., majoring in Business Administration- Marketing/Communication Studies.

Rickey Rector, a Junior from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Please visit www.augustana.edu/messiah for a behind the scenes documentary on the joy of singing Messiah.

06 Dec 2011

Courtney Wachal to Perform in University of Mount Union Christmas Festival

By readMedia

ALLIANCE, OH (11/30/2011)(readMedia)-- Courtney Wachal of Bettendorf, Iowa will perform in the University of Mount Union's Christmas Festival, Child of Light, on Friday, December 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Myers Sanctuary, located in Dewald Chapel on the University's campus. The holiday event will feature performances from Mount Union's Concert Choir and Women's Choir.

Wachal, a freshman French and international studies major, is a graduate of Bettendorf High School. Wachal also is a soprano and member of the Mount Union Concert Choir.

Under the direction of Dr. Grant Cook III, director of choral activities at Mount Union, the choirs will combine choral selections and traditional carols with scriptures and readings of the season.

The performance is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. To make reservations, contact the Office of Alumni Relations and University Activities at (330) 823-2030 or alumni@mountunion.edu.

About the University of Mount Union

The University of Mount Union, founded in 1846, is a four-year, private institution grounded in the liberal arts tradition. Mount Union offers an array of broad-based and career-specific undergraduate and graduate programs to its 2,200 students who experience outstanding opportunities for success after graduation. Ranked as one of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report, the University is committed to providing a student-centered approach and an exceptional educational experience, as evidenced by its mission to prepare students for fulfilling lives, meaningful work and responsible citizenship. The University's 115-acre campus is located in Alliance, Ohio, 80 miles of both Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and more than $100 million has been invested in the construction and renovation of modern facilities throughout the course of the past decade. For more information, visit www.mountunion.edu.

On the web: http://readabout.me/achievements/Courtney-Wachal-to-Perform-in-University-of-Mount-Union-Christmas-Festival/3125828.

06 Dec 2011

Local students participate in Christmas at Augustana

By readMedia

ROCK ISLAND, IL (11/29/2011)(readMedia)-- Augustana presents its fourth annual Christmas at Augustana holiday concert-which has nearly sold out in previous years-on Friday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.). More than 300 students in the college's choirs, brass ensemble and orchestra will join together to share music with audience members in what promises to be a warm and memorable holiday experience for all.

From your area this includes:

Hannah Barney, a Junior from Bettendorf, Iowa, majoring in Business Administration-Marketing/Communication Studies.

Elizabeth Kuster, a Sophomore from Bettendorf, Iowa, majoring in Creative Writing.

Anthony TouVelle, a First Year from Bettendorf, Iowa, majoring in Undecided.

Kaleigh Wall, a Junior from Eldridge, Ill., majoring in Art.

Steven Ray Trent, a Sophomore from Eldridge, Iowa, majoring in Geology.

Ashley Finley, a Sophomore from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Music Education Instrumental.

Peter Wiese, a Junior from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Neuroscience/Mathematics.

Guy Iaccarino, a Senior from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Music General/Anthropology.

Abigail Jones, a Sophomore from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Biology/Environmental Studies.

Rickey Rector, a Junior from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Nick Kendell, a Sophomore from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Undecided.

Ingrid Schneider, a First Year from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Undecided.

Benjamin Knapper, a First Year from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Undecided.

Adam Bengfort, a First Year from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Undecided.

Christine Harb, a First Year from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Undecided.

Manisha Kumar, a Junior from Davenport, Iowa, majoring in Biology/Pre-Medicine.

Anne VanSpeybroek, a Junior from Rock Island, Ill., majoring in Music Performance- Instrumental.

Timothy Murga, a Senior from Rock Island, Ill., majoring in Biology.

Monica Hill, a Sophomore from Carbon Cliff, Ill., majoring in Business Administration-Advising.

Lindsey Sikorski, a First Year from East Moline, Ill., majoring in Undecided.

Samantha McGreer, a First Year from Illinois City, Ill., majoring in Undecided.

Samantha Kammerman, a First Year from Milan, Ill., majoring in Undecided.

Laurel Williams, a Senior from Milan, Ill., majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders/English.

Jacob McManus, a First Year from Reynolds, Ill., majoring in Undecided.

Lauren Reid, a Senior from Sherrard, Ill., majoring in Business Administration- Marketing/Communication Studies.

Elyzia Powers, a First Year from Silvis, Ill., majoring in Undecided.

Jennifer Youngs, a Senior from Taylor Ridge, Ill., majoring in Psychology/Political Science.

Megan Keller, a Senior from Taylor Ridge, Ill., majoring in Communication Studies.

Christmas at Augustana is one of a series of performances planned for the Christmas season. The Handel Oratorio Society, a choir that combines the vocal talents of Augustana students and Quad-City community members, along with the professional Handel Oratorio Society Chamber Orchestra and guest soloists, will perform Handel's Messiah on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. in continuation of an annual tradition. The event will be held in Centennial Hall (3703 7th Ave.).

Tickets for both Christmas at Augustana and Messiah are available at www.augustana.edu/tickets or by calling (309) 794-7306.

The Augustana Chamber Singers and the Office of Campus Ministries will present Lessons and Carols on Thursday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. This beautiful Advent service chronicles the preparation of Christ's birth through songs and readings in Ascension Chapel (on campus at 820 38th St.). The event is free and open to the public.

06 Dec 2011

Surprise Davenport concert announcement!

By Timm Dalman

Coming to Davenport this January!

TobyMac:  A Night of Unplugged Stories & Songs

Special Guest: Jamie Grace

7:30PM  Thursday, January 19, 2012

Adler Theatre, downtown Davenport, Iowa

Tickets go On Sale: Friday, December 2, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.

Tickets available at Adler Theatre Box Office, charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000, online at Ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets.

Plan to join us in January for TobyMac in the intimate, personal setting of the Adler Theater. This is a first! Dont miss it!

We hope to see you there!

06 Dec 2011

3rd Annual Chordbuster Christmas Festival

By Amos Glanz

The Chordbuster Chorus presents it's 3rd Annual Christmas Festival.  Experience  the Christmas musical charms of:  Trinity Lutheran Choirs, Assumption High School Jazz Choir, Three Guys with Soule quartet, an organ/trumpet duet, and the combined Chordbuster and the Bend of the River Chorus.

Thursday, December 8th, 7 p.m.

Trinity Lutheran Church, 1122 West Central Park, Davenport, Iowa.

Tickets: $5.

12 and under: free.

Information:  (563) 332-4810.

The Chordbuster Chorus, BHS Central States District's 2011 Div. "AA" Most Improved Chorus, is a non-profit organization, promoting a cappella, barbershop-style harmony singing as a way of enriching people's lives.

www.thechordbusters.com

02 Dec 2011

Concerti for Celli and more QCSO news

By Jared Johnson

 

The first half of the 2011-12 Masterworks season concludes in just a few weeks on December 3rd and 4th with Concerti for Celli, featuring cellists Tony Ross and Beth Rapier Ross. This husband-and-wife team, respectively principal cello and assistant principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra, brings their own special connection to a pair of concerti, each written for a pair of celli. The first by Ott in a modern idiom, with the second in Vivaldi's more Baroque style.

 

Michael Abel's Global Warming, originally commissioned by Mark Russell Smith, displays the warming of cultural relations by weaving together folk music from divergent cultures into one noisy yet harmonic global village. The concert is concluded with Brahms' beloved First Symphony.

 

For full program notes and listening samples, click here.

 

For guest artist biographies, click here.

 

Tickets for Masterworks III may be purchased at 800.745.3000, at all Ticketmaster outlets, or by clicking here.

Chili with Celli

 

Friday, December 2 at 5 PM, cellists from around the Quad Cities are invited to join Anthony Ross and Beth Rapier Ross from the Minnesota Orchestra, along with Hannah Holman, Kevin Price-Brenner, and Mark Russell Smith at the River Music Experience in downtown Davenport for a chili dinner and cello performance. Chili will be available at 5, with the program beginning at 5:30.

 

The chili will be provided by Volunteers for Symphony and drinks will be for sale at the RME Cafe. This event is free to the public and everyone is invited to bring their cello and a music stand. Please RSVP by Wednesday, November 30, to Rebecca Swartz, Education and Youth Ensemble Coordinator, at 563.322.0931 or rswartz@qcsymphony.com if you plan to attend.

Win $50,000 in the Symphony Raffle

 

In honor of our 97th season, the QCSO is selling 1000 $97 raffle tickets which could win you $50,000!

 

In addition to that exciting Grand Prize, over $3500 in preliminary cash prizes will be awarded at each Quad City Symphony Orchestra concert this season, including a $2500 "early bird" prize on December 4. Winners of the preliminary prizes will remain eligible for the Grand Prize, so the earlier you buy your ticket, the better your chance to win!

 

Buy your tickets today at the QCSO Box Office or by mailing a check for $97 to 327 Brady Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801. Your tickets will be mailed to you upon the receipt of your check.

The Signature Series continues

 

The QCSO saw great attendance for the premier offering of its Signature Series and expects to see the same when the Lyrebird Ensemble performs at the Figge Art Museum on January 21. The Lyrebird Ensemble, a collaboration between Quad City Symphony Orchestra members Ellen Huntington and Lillian Lau, will perform hidden gems from the flute and harp repertoire. Come to hear the gorgeous combination of these two instruments in a program of rarely performed works ranging from charming to virtuosic. This second concert of the Signature Series is in the Figge Art Museum on January 21 at 8 PM.

 

The Lyrebird Ensemble will be performing in the "Fins and Feathers: Children's Book Illustrations from the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art," a temporary exhibit at the Figge Art Museum that showcases original children's book illustrations from the late 1960s through today. Included are works by Leo Lionni (Fish is Fish), Petra Mathers (Lottie's New Beach Towel), and Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar). The exhibition opens on the day of the concert and runs through April 22, 2012.

 

Tickets for the Signature Series are $18, but if you buy both remaining concerts in the series you can save 15%. May 19 will feature the driving rhythms of composer Marc Mellits at the River Music Experience. The first thing you'll do after each concert is tweet: "That was the best music I've heard in a long time."

 

To read more about the Lyrebird Esemble, click here.

21 Nov 2011

PIZZA MAN Quad Cities feature film update

By Doug Miller
The live action motion picture production of PIZZA MAN to be made by Brookspics Productions is slated to begin in the spring of 2012. Brookspics, which is owned by Mel Brooks, has been approved for production by Betsy Steinberg, Managing Director of the Illinois Film Office. PIZZA MAN is a horror/thriller film and has been in active development and preparation since June of this year through the efforts of Producer, Rainer Soehnlein in cooperation with Great River Studios, LLC of Rock Island, Illinois. Great River will be the production management, service, equipment and facilities company associated with the local production of the film in the Illinois Quad Cities area.

An extensive location scout took place during the months of August and September of this year with the film's director Steve Haberman and Great River Production Executive, Doug Miller, along with numerous associates from Great River Studios. Production budgets have been finalized and logistics have been coordinated for the production with the cooperation of numerous Quad Cities residents, various Great River production partners and the Cities of Rock Island and Moline with locations selected in both of these communities thus far. The projected budget of the film is $5 million dollars

Steve Haberman, the writer-director of PIZZA MAN, is a longtime collaborator with Mel Brooks having written two movies with him: LIFE STINKS and DRACULA - DEAD AND LOVING IT. He also wrote the feature SCREW LOOSE and the documentary SHADOWS IN THE DARK: THE VAL LEWTON LEGACY. His short film, BLIND CURVES, which he wrote, produced and directed, won 17 international film festivals, including the Eastman Kodak Film of the Year and Best Short Film of the Year from the Photographic Society of America. An expert on horror films, he authored the book SILENT SCREAMS, the definitive history of horror in the silent era. He performed the commentary on 15 classic horror films including the original Universal Pictures' DRACULA and THE MUMMY for which he won the Rando Award for Best Commentary of the Year. He recently produced, directed and edited the HBO special MEL BROOKS AND DICK CAVETT - TOGETHER AGAIN.

For more information about PIZZA MAN and or interviews with Mr. Haberman please contact Doug Miller, Great River Studios Production Executive at 563-349-1041.
08 Nov 2011

Civil War Music from the Muscatine High School at the Muscatine Art Center

By Katy Doherty
Music was used extensively during the Civil War. Bands would play during recruitment rallies to excite the crowd and entice men to enlist. Music was used as a form of entertainment and as a means of inspiring loyalty and camaraderie among the troops. Music sounded the soldiers' daily activities, led them into battle and laid them to rest.

Singing was one of the soldiers' favorite ways to pass time. Many songs were inspirational marching tunes meant to keep morale high, while others were sad, sentimental songs whose lyrics reminded the men of loved ones and home. Most Civil War era music is easily
recognizable today, as they are steadfast favorites.

Join us in the Music Room for a special program of Civil War era music, presented by the Muscatine Art Center in conjunction with the current exhibit: Muscatine & the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Commemoration. The beautiful music will be performed by select group of Muscatine High School students under the direction of Kelly Preslan and Darcy Hendriks of the Vocal and Band Department at the Muscatine High School.

This program will consist of vocal and instrumental selections relating to the Civil War, in the form of ballads, patriotic songs, marches and instrumental drill patterns.

DETAILS:
What: Civil War Era Music Performed by the Muscatine High School's Vocal and Band
Department
When: Thursday, November 10, 2011
Time: 6:00 PM
Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room
Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. Admission is FREE.
08 Nov 2011

Holiday Pops featuring Todd Eldredge

By Jared Johnson

Ice skating returns to the Holiday Pops as Olympic ice skater Todd Eldredge, couples skating team Andy and Lindsey Seitz, and the Figure Skating Club of the Quad Cities join the Quad City Symphony Orchestra for this year's Holiday Pops! Guest conductor Michael Butterman, a favorite with the Holiday Pops audience, also returns to lead this star-studded spectacular. Holiday Pops is on November 19 at 7:30 PM and kicks off Quad City Arts' Festival of Trees, along with the Festival of Trees Parade and the Lighting of the Commons. This concert is sponsored by John Deere.

Conductor Michael Butterman and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra will also be joined on stage by actor John Getz, known for his roles in such films as the Social Network and Zodiac, and jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis. Both John Getz and Jon Faddis are brought to the Quad Cities by Quad City Arts. And of course the Holiday Pops concert would not be complete without the hundreds of voices from the Sanctuary Choir of First Presbyterian Church, Davenport, and the Holiday Pops Children's Chorus.

Tickets are on sale now at the i wireless Center box office, at 800.745.3000, or online at www.qcsymphony.com. Tables along the ice are $45 per seat, with tiered pricing in the arena ranging from $15 to $35. Seniors and children can save $2 per ticket and groups of 15 or more can save even more by calling the i wireless Center group sales department at 309.277.1356.

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