Saturday, December 14, 7:30 p.m.
North Scott High School, 200 South First Street, Eldridge IA
Sunday, December 15, 2 p.m.
Bartlett Performing Arts Center, 3600 Avenue of the Cities, Moline IL
For the second set of presentations in radio station WVIK and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's 2019-20 Signature Series, the program's traditionally beautiful music gets seasonal in the December 14 and 15 concert event Holiday Brass, with respective audiences at Eldridge's North Scott High School and Moline's Bartlett Performing Arts Center treated to classic holiday favorites, celebrity-guest readings of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and the talents of the Moline High School Choir.
Conducted by the QCSO's longtime music director Mark Russell Smith, the Holiday Brass concerts will find members of the orchestra's brass and percussion sections partering with students at both North Scott and Moline High Schools, and as Russell stated, “There’s a volume and a very thrilling aspect in pairing brass and percussion. It’s kind of perfect for holidays in that way.” Regarding the Holiday Brass repertoire, Smith added, “The program is a bunch of individual pieces that vary. There’s no one big, huge piece. You have beautiful, soft, reflective pieces like Silent Night, and then big, festive, brass pieces. It’s meant to be a really family-friendly, fun program.” Both concerts will also feature readings of the classic holiday tale 'Twas the Night Before Christmas accompanied by music, with Greg Aguilar – Q2030 Director at the Quad Cities Chamber – performing the piece on Saturday and WQAD on-air talent Angie Sharp delivering the reading on Sunday.
In addition, the Moline High School choir will perform George Frideric Handel's Hallelujah Chorus on both days. As the QCSO's Principal Horn Marc Zyla said, ““I remember when I was a kid, the thing that got me hooked and wanting to do this as a career was hearing really great brass players in the sound of an orchestra. I hope that the students who come and play with us are impressed and excited by the sounds that professional players can make. And hopefully it makes them aspire to reach that level as they go on in their music study.”
Founded in 1915, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra is among the 20 longest-established, continuously operating orchestral associations in the United States. The QCSO presents a full season each year supplemented by pops and special events, and has demonstrated steady artistic growth measured by the depth of the repertoire performed. Composed of an average of 80 players, the QCSO provides programs and community service to a market of more than 450,000 residents of eastern Iowa and western Illinois, staging performances in both Iowa and Illinois, and has also founded the Quad City Youth Symphony Orchestra and four additional training ensembles: the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Youth String Ensemble, Prelude Strings, and Youth Choir. Its music-education and outreach programming includes dozens of education programs delivered to over 10,000 area students annually and more than 250,000 over the years to students in Iowa and Illinois, and the League of American Orchestras has recognized the QCSO Volunteers for Symphony for its role in implementing these innovative educational programs uplifting youth through music and the arts.
The WVIK/QCSO Signature Series' Holiday Brass will be performed on December 14 at North Scott High School at 7:30 p.m., and on December 15 at the Bartlett Performing Arts Center at 2 p.m. Admission to both concerts is $8-23, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)322-7276 or visiting QCSO.org.
