In this bitterly cold winter of our discontent, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra transports us to warm, bright musical landscapes in its latest digital concert. In a program literally focused on youth, the concert (recorded without an audience at Davenport’s Adler Theatre) features Felix Mendelssohn’s musical exploration of Italy’s culture and countryside in his joyful and energetic “Italian” Symphony. 2019 Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Concerto Competition winner Linda Phan (who’s in sixth grade) joins the QCSO for the first movement of Wolfgang A. Mozart’s effervescent, charming Third... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a weekly look at a personality, place, trend or topic of interest to the Quad-Cities. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com. Ludwig van Beethoven was not an easy person to like in real life, but 250 years after his birth, the monumental musical genius is easy to love and admire with a jaw-dropping sense of awe. He’s a protean superhero who had to overcome so much adversity, and is being justly celebrated in the Quad-Cities and around the world. The Quad City Symphony Orchestra titled this 2020-21 season... Read More

Pianist Marian Lee – head of the keyboard area at St. Ambrose University, Davenport – has found silver linings in the dark cloud of Covid. For just the second time since she’s been in the Quad-Cities, over the past eight years, Lee will be featured soloist with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra this weekend, performing J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F Minor (BWV 1056). That wasn’t the original plan. “Because of Covid, I lucked out. The original pianist who was scheduled to perform was a Chinese pianist from Curtis and she was still unable to get back into the United States from... Read More

What a difference an audience makes. Any performer – especially in this dizzying, chaotic age of Covid-19 – knows this. And when Mark Russell Smith, starting his 12th season as music director and conductor of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, took to the Adler Theatre stage Oct. 3 for the first time in seven months – he knew it for sure. “It was moving, very powerful,” he said Thursday of leading a smaller, socially-distanced ensemble, as he wore a face mask. “Even before we played a note, the audience greeted us with a standing ovation. I came out like normal, the orchestra stood up... Read More

Because of increasing cases of Covid-19 in the area, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra is switching to all-digital concerts for the remainder of November and December. Orchestra executive director Brian Baxter said their coronavirus task force has been closely monitoring the local Covid epidemic and reviewing guidance from government authorities at the federal, state, and local levels. “We’ve been consulting with the Scott County Health Department since this whole thing began, to try to make sure we’re following best practices, doing the right thing – both for our own musicians and staff,... Read More

The past few weeks have been busy and unprecedented for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, thanks to Covid-19. Executive director Brian Baxter said Monday that the Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops Sept. 12 went extremely well, given that rain threatened that day, and they wrestled with a complex new seating arrangement in LeClaire Park. “It was an unbelievable undertaking,” he said. “It was a tremendous effort on the part of our staff and our volunteers. The amount of work it took to make the safety precautions a reality was a lot. On top of making sure it’s safe in the Covid pandemic... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a comprehensive, in-depth look at a personality, issue, or trend in the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene, running every Saturday morning on your site for fun, free, local entertainment and features, QuadCities.com.   Hannah Holman has a dream and it’s tantalizingly close to coming true. The passionate principal cellist for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra – of which she’s been a member since 2001 – has spent years planning and forming the Quad City Music Academy, which is now a registered nonprofit organization with an accomplished local board of directors... Read More

As many orchestras nationwide have cancelled in-person concerts for the fall, the show must go on for the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO). It’s proceeding with fall Masterworks concerts at Davenport’s Adler Theatre, which will undergo some major changes. Following recommendations from the Scott County Health Department, the QCSO has altered its October, November and December programs – to cut the ensemble size in half, to about 40 musicians; allow only 25 percent capacity in the Adler for both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon concerts; require masks and social distancing, and eliminate... Read More

Quad City Symphony Orchestra presents Signature Series: Fantasie this Friday Aug 7 from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., live from Allaert Auditorium at the Galvin Fine Arts Center (St. Ambrose University 518 Locust Street Davenport), both in-person and virtually. Join concertmaster Naha Greenholtz and pianist Marian Lee for an evening of Musical Fantasies! Experience the music live in-person or from the comfort of your own home via Livestream.  With a multiple high-definition camera setup, Livestream viewers will get an up-close view of these two masterful musicians at work, unlike anything they could experience... Read More

Join the Quad City Symphony Orchestra as they kick off the 2020-21 Season. Uncord the Season will take place on Wednesday Aug 5 from 5 – 8 p.m. at Wide River Winery in the Village of East Davenport (1128 Mound Street Davenport). Tickets are just $20 and include a light dinner and music from the QCSO Brass Quintet. They can be purchased online at https://qcso.org/event/uncork-the-season-2020/. Wine will be sold by the bottle and 50% of your purchase will be donated back to the QCSO! To ensure social distancing, the event is limited to 60 guests. Guests can attend in groups of up to 6 people with... Read More