Saturday, October 5, 8 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
Sunday, October 6, 2 p.m.
Augustana College's Centennial Hall, 3703 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
Its 2019-20 Masterworks repertoire devoted to an aural exploration of the human experience, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and conductor Mark Russell Smith kick off the new season with the October 5 and 6 presentations of Masterworks I: Statement, with the Adler Theatre and Centennial Hall performances boasting thrilling works by Brahms, Korngold, and other composers and electrifying solos for cello player Hannah Holman and soprano Katherine Jolly.
An active chamber musician and principal cellist for the QCSO, Hannah Holman studied at the Eastman School of Music and Michigan State University, where she completed her Bachelor of Music degree, and obtained her Master of Music Degree with Fritz Magg at the New England Conservatory. A founding member of the Beaumont Piano Trio, which performed around the United States and England, Holman was also a founding member of Quadrivinium, a music ensemble-in-residence at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. From 2002-2011, she was a member of the Maia Quartet, the University of Iowa's quartet-in-residence, which toured China, Japan, and throughout the United States, including teaching residencies at Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Great Wall International Music Academy in China, and the Austin Chamber Music Center. Holman regularly performs in chamber ensembles with musicians from throughout the United States, and Fanfare magazine raved that “her tone and technique are the stuff that cello legends are made of.”
An accomplished young singer on opera and concert stages, soprano Katherine Jolly received her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, and is an Assistant Professor of Music (Voice) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She has appeared in leading coloratura and soubrette roles in multiple seasons with companies including Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Houston Grand Operaco, Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, American Lyric Theatre, and Piedmont Opera, appearing with conductors including George Manahan, Stephen Lord, Michael Christie, Stuart Robinson, and Jerry Steichen. Jolly recently performed with the Phoenix Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, Northwest Florida Symphony, Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra, Chamber Project STL, Bach Society of Saint Louis, and the Kingsbury Ensemble. With Jolly the winner of the 2006 Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals, the New York Times raved of the artist, “Katherine Jolly used her agile, bright lyric soprano to superb effect.”
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra's latest Masterworks season begins, in Statement, with the infectious energy of Alberto Ginastera’s “Malambo” from the ballet Estancia, after which cellist Holman performs Jennifer Higdon’s thoughtful and plaintive Soliloquy and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s stormy, dramatic Cello Concerto. These pieces will be followed by the world premiere of David Dzubay’s Autumn Rivulets, a work inspired by the Walt Whitman poem and featuring soprano Jolly, after which the program will close with Brahms’ fierce and exultant Symphony No. 1.
Masterworks I: Statement performances will be held at Davenport's Adler Theatre at 8 p.m. on October 5 and Rock Island's Augustana College Centennial Hall at 2 p.m. on October 6. Admission is $10-65, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)322-7276 or visiting QCSO.org.
