"Holiday Brass," December 9 and 10

Saturday, December 9, 3 p.m.

Second Baptist Church, 919 Sixth Avenue, Rock Island IL

Sunday, December 10, 3 p.m.

St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2136 North Brady Street, Davenport IA

On December 9 and 10, music fans are invited to ring in the holiday season with members of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's brass and percussion sections in the yuletide delight Holiday Brass, an uplifting repertoire of classical and seasonal favorites being performed at Rock Island's Second Baptist Church and Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church.

With storyteller, area actor/author, and former Quad Cities Poet Laureate Shellie Moore Guy providing narration, Holiday Brass will offer a thrilling collection of compositions, including: Giorlamo Fresco's "Toccata"; Pietro Yon's "A Manger Pastorale; Gesù Bambino"; Anthony Dilorenzo's "Colossus" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"; Piotr Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite"; Antioch's "Joy to the World"; Robert Hunter MacGimsey's "Sweet Little Jesus Boy"; John Francis Wade's "Adeste Fideles"; Franz Grüber's "Silent Night"; and George Frideric Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." At the December 10 concert event, Guy and the QCSO musicians will be joined by the symphony's organist Chris Nelson, who will perform on an improvisational organ piece as well as on Eugène Gugout's "Grande Choeur Dialogue."

Leading the ensemble in its two Holiday Brass concerts is QCSO conductor Mark Russell Smith, who has been music director and conductor for the symphony since 2008. Smith grew up in a musical family in Phoenix, Arizona where he began the serious study of conducting while still in his teens. He is a graduate in cello performance of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Claus Adam, and of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied conducting with Max Rudolf and Otto-Werner Mueller. While at Curtis, Smith was first-prize winner in the National Repertory Orchestra Conductors Competition, and upon graduation, was named Assistant Conductor of the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Singers. From 1989 to 1994, Smith served as Associate Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and from 1992 through 1999 served as Music Director of the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra. His dynamic personality, creative programming, and focus on outreach helped revitalize the Springfield (MA) Symphony, where he served as Music Director from 1995 through 2000. Recent projects include appearances with the Joffrey Ballet, conducting Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring as part of a larger exploration of that work commemorating its 100th anniversary, and Smith also served as Music Director and Conductor of the Richmond Symphony from 1999 to 2009.

Holiday Brass will enjoy two performances on December 9 and 10: on Saturday at Rock Island's Second Baptist Church, and on Sunday at Davenport's St. Paul Lutheran Church. Admission to the 3 p.m. concert events is $12-32 per performance, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)322-0931 and visiting QCSO.org.