Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! I am listening to pianist Garrick Ohlsson’s magisterial, towering 2005 transversal of the immortal 24 Preludes by the iconic Romantic composer Frederic Chopin, and the masterful miniatures are unspooled with inspiring tenderness and care, thundering, breathtaking virtuosity, achingly beautiful lyricism, crystalline precision and profound emotion. It’s no wonder that Ohlsson... Read More

It’s fitting that the last Quad City Symphony Orchestra performance before the Covid shutdown was Verdi’s Requiem, a piece written in memory of a dear friend. The first Masterworks program to welcome a full-capacity audience since then (Oct. 2-3, 2021) will feature the classic Dvorak “New World” Symphony. It’s a whole new world for sure, as the pandemic lingers on. This weekend’s concerts – featuring world-renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson performing Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto – will also include a Sunday afternoon in Centennial Hall (at Augustana College in Rock Island)... Read More

A disgruntled conductor might say leading an orchestra is like herding cats. In a new partnership, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra is bringing an “Instrument Petting Zoo” to Mercado on Fifth in downtown Moline, starting Friday, July 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. “The QCSO has been really doubling down on our private lesson effort and group lesson effort,” Marc Zyla, the orchestra’s director of education & community engagement, personnel manager and principal horn player, said Wednesday. The QCSO has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley, and the weekly... Read More

After an unprecedented season, that featured a mix of concerts in empty and limited capacity concert halls, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) is hoping for something far closer to normal for its 107th season in 2021-22, starting in August. “From the New World” – named for the iconic Antonin Dvorak symphony that will kick off the Masterworks Oct. 2-3 – will feature six dynamic Masterworks programs, the beloved Quad City Bank & Trust Riverfront Pops, the return of QCSO at the Movies, four intimate “Up Close” chamber concerts, and several special events. “As we are truly entering... Read More

Ballet Quad Cities and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s Trio will co-headline a performance at the Adler Theatre on Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 8:00 p.m. Special guest is Aaron Fullan, an actor, composer and social media influencer from Clinton, Iowa. Ballet Quad Cities will feature audience favorites such as, the fun baseball themed “Players,” the jazzy and sophisticated “Sugar Rum Fairy,” the sunny and chill “Dream a Little Dream,” Meghan Phillips’ “Where Ever the Wind Takes Us,” and more. Three superb Quad City Symphony Orchestra musicians, associate concertmaster Emily Nash,... Read More

“Hamilton” star Renee Elise Goldsberry will perform Saturday, May 15 with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra in LeClaire Park! The beautiful 50-year-old California native — best known for originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway smash “Hamilton” – will make her post-Covid live performance debut in the 7:30 p.m. concert, for a long-awaited evening of Broadway, pop, and soul favorites, backed by the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. “It’s kind of mind-blowing,” Goldsberry said in a Friday phone interview, noting her entire 2020 pops tour schedule was scrapped due... Read More

If you get your Covid vaccine at the Rock Island County mass vaccination clinic in Milan between April 14 and May 20, there will be something special that’s literally music to your ears. Taking inspiration from famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s recent impromptu performance during his Covid vaccine observation period, the Rock Island County Health Department and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) are partnering to bring live music to the mass vaccination site at Camden Centre in Milan. “Vaccine Variations” is an initiative that arranges for one-hour performances by QCSO musicians starting April... Read More

It’s fairly rare for a symphony orchestra to feature a concert of all-American music or two living composers on the same program. Fans of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) hit the jackpot with exactly this all for two performances of “For America,” Saturday at the Adler Theatre. But even if you weren’t among the 344 lucky people to attend the concerts in person (the 2,321-seat Adler has allowed 25-percent capacity), anyone can purchase digital access (for $40) to watch the supremely talented musicians in the delightfully varied program – online through May 11. Plus, unlike the in-person... Read More

Quad City Symphony Orchestra is bringing “Masterworks VI: For America” to the Quad-Cities The concert will be held on April 10 (2 & 7:30 pm) at the Adler Theatre with $1 from every ticket sold benefiting the AALS United Way. In celebration of the Figge Art Museum’s “For America” exhibit, the concert weaves together different American musical traditions and celebrates diversity. Stream the concert On Demand via Digital Access from April 11 – May 11 or enjoy in person on April 10. For your support for #UnitedWayQC and AALS, you will receive 30% off the price of your digital... Read More

Less than three months after securing its lease and creating its name, the new Deanery School of Music has chosen its first executive director, Rishi Wagle of Bettendorf. A 2016 Pleasant Valley High School alum and 2020 graduate of Brown University, he will work closely with the board and with Hannah Holman, the school’s artistic director, to address the many initiatives associated with the start of this new and unique cultural organization serving the Quad-Cities. “There are so many moving parts associated with an adventure like this that we feel it needs someone who is a quick learner with... Read More