Saxophonist Grace Kelly to grace the QCA with her musical talents
Rock Island, Ill. – Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017 - The 44th season of Quad City Arts’ Visiting Artist Series begins with a one-week residency by jazz saxophonist and singer Grace Kelly.
Grace Kelly, 23, is a seven-time winner of the Downbeat critics poll as a rising star in the alto sax category and recorded her first album, “Dreaming,” when she was 12. In 2009, Kelly guested with the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra as part of the events surrounding Barack Obama’s inauguration celebration at the request of the ensemble’s director, Wynton Marsalis. A graduate from the Berklee College of Music in 2011, with a degree in professional music, Kelly released her eighth album, “Trying To Figure It Out,” in February 2016.
Grace will present at nine Quad City area schools for elementary through community college students, including a workshop for Davenport Sudlow students. She will also give an informal performance for the public at 3:30 p.m. at the Frances Banta Waggoner Community Library in DeWitt, Iowa. She will return Oct. 9-11 for three additional days of community outreach.
Grace will perform in collaboration with Polyrhythms 3rd Sunday Jazz Series at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at the River Music Experience, Davenport. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $15 for reserved seating. Call Polyrhythms for reservations at 309-373-0790.
The 2017-2018 season of the Visiting Artist Series runs through April 2018 and features nine performing arts residencies, including a storyteller, musical ensembles, and a jazz dance company.
For more information, visit www.quadcityarts.com.
About the Visiting Artist Series
Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the Quad City region through the arts.
Quad City Arts programs are funded in part by Festival of Trees, Quad City Arts Partners, operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.
Quad City Arts receives significant support for the Visiting Artist Series from Scott County Regional Authority, National Endowment for the Arts, John Deere Foundation, Bechtel Charitable Trust, Regional Development Authority, Iowa Arts Council, Arts Midwest Touring Fund, U.S. Bank Foundation, Rock Island Rotary, Bettendorf Rotary, Amy Helpenstell Foundation, Rock Island Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, Genesis Health System, Melvin McKay Trust, Mary Iva Gittens Knouse Trust, and Rauch Family Foundation I.
Performance space is provided by the Butterworth Center, Moline; First Presbyterian Church, Davenport; the Galvin Fine Arts Center at St. Ambrose University; Polyrhythms at the River Music Experience; Pleasant Valley High School, and Bettendorf Performing Arts Center. Additional support comes from donated lodging from local hotels and service fees paid by school districts, Parent Teacher Associations, service clubs, and businesses.
Contact: Margot Day, community engagement director at Quad City Arts, mday@quadcityarts.com or 309-793-1213, ext. 106.
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