Thursday, April 26, 7:30 p.m.
St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center, 2101 North Gaines Street, Davenport IA
Friday, April 27, noon
Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf IA
Friday, April 27, 3 p.m.
Butterworth Center, 1105 Eighth Street, Moline IL
Serving as the final guests in Quad City Arts' 2017-18 Visiting Artists series, the chamber musicians and educators of the Akropolis Reed Quintet will perform their public concert at St. Ambrose University on April 26, treating attendees to an ensemble praised by Ioregon ArtsWatch for its “clear, richly-textured, well-rehearsed group dynamics,” and by Fanfare magazine for its “imagination, infallible musicality, and huge vitality.”
Founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan and revered for their exhilarating takes on classical-music stylings, the Akropolis Reed Quintet is composed of the same five musicians who originated the group: Tim Gocklin on oboe, Andrew Koeppe on bass clarinet, Kari Landry on clarinet, Matt Landry on saxophone, and Ryan Reynolds (not the actor) on bassoon. The first-ever ensemble of its makeup to win a Fischoff Gold Medal (2014), the quintet also received the 2015 Fischoff Educator Award and the Grand Prizes at the Plowman and MTNA national competitions, and has performed in international locales ranging from Juneau to Abu Dhabi. Akropolis has also been showcased at five national conferences – including as participants in APAP’s prestigious Young Performers Career Advancement Program – and conducts extensive educational residencies that impact thousands of children each year.
Mavericks in the creation of new wind music, Akropolis has commissioned over 30 reed-quintet works and has recorded three albums, including its 2017 release The Space Between Us that the San Francisco Chronicle called “pure gold, shot through with tenderness and grace.” In addition, Akropolis has received grants for its community programming from the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, CultureSource, and Chamber Music America, as well as operating support from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Amphion Foundation.
The Akropolis Reed Quintet performs at St. Ambrose's Galvin Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on April 26, and tickets are $11-17. Free, abbreviated performances will also be held on April 27 at the Bettendorf Public Library at noon and Moline's Butterworth Center at 3 p.m., and more information on the group's area stay is available by calling (309)793-1213 or visiting QuadCityArts.com.
