Quad City Symphony Orchestra Masterworks II: “An American Tapestry,” November 4 and 5

Saturday, November 4, 7:30 p.m.

Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA

Sunday, November 5, 2 p.m.

Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL

Continuing their 2023-24 season with performances at Davenport's Adler Theatre on November 4 and Augustana College's Centennial Hall on November 5, the magnificent musicians of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra welcome, for their concert event Masterworks II: An American Tapestry, pianist Michelle Cann in her first appearance with the QCSO, the national talent lauded as “exquisite” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and by Gramophone as “a pianist of sterling artistry."

One of the most sought-after pianists of her generation, Cann made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2021 and has recently performed concertos with the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. Recognized as a leading interpreter of the piano music of Florence Price, she performed the New York Citypremiere of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with the Dream Unfinished Orchestra in 2016 and the Philadelphia premiere with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in 2021. Cann's recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2023 for Best Orchestral Performance, while her acclaimed debut solo album Revival, featuring music by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released this past May on the Curtis Studio label. She has also recorded two Price piano quintets with the Catalyst Quartet. Cann was the recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, and received the Cleveland Institute of Music’s 2022 Alumni Achievement Award and 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award.

Embracing a dual role as performer and pedagogue, Cann is frequently invited to teach master classes, give lecture-demonstrations, and lead teaching residencies. Recent residencies include the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and the National Conference of the Music Teachers National Association. She has recorded lessons for tonebase, the popular piano lesson platform, and has served on the juries of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Kauffman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition, and the piano competition of the Music Academy of the West. A staunch believer in community-building through music, Cann has additionally served as the director of two children’s choruses in the El Sistema-inspired program Play On Philly and was part of the inaugural class of Artist Year fellows at the Curtis Institute of Music.

The QCSO's symphonic tapestry of American music on November 4 and 5 begins with a journey to the Wild West in Aaron Copland’s rousing “Buckaroo Holiday” from Rodeo. Patrons are then invited to get swept away with Judith Shatin’s Piping the Earth before falling in love with the third movement of Amy Beach’s romantic Second Symphony. This latest Masterworks program will close its half with the driving energy of John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Then, in the concert's second half, audiences can celebrate the 150th birthday of legendary composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, who eventually made Beverly Hills his home, with his rhapsodic Second Piano Concerto featuring virtuoso Michelle Cann in her first-ever performance with the QCSO.

Masterworks II: An American Tapestry performances will be held at Davenport's Adler Theatre on November 4 at 7:30 p.m., and, in Rock Island, at Augustana College's Centennial Hall on November 5 at 2 p.m. One hour prior to each performance, concert-goers are invited to attend informational "Concert Conversations" to learn about the works on the program, and admission to the concert events starts at $12 for adults and $7 for students and children. For more information and tickets, call (563)322-0931 and visit QCSO.org.