“Soirée: A Night in Italy" at the Figge Art Museum -- October 19.
Saturday, October 19, 6:30 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
An elegant evening at Davenport's Figge Art Museum and one of the most annually popular fundraising events in the Quad Cities, this year's Soirée: A Night in Italy will, on October 19, find Quad City Symphony Orchestra musicians Emily Nash, Madelin Capistran, Bruno Vaz Da Sila, and Laura Shaw performing in a special event boasting a cocktail hour, dinner, and live auction with Maestro Mark Russell Smith as auctioneer to benefit the QCSO’s education programs.
Emily Nash graduated with her MM in violin performance while studying with Almita and Roland Vamos at Northwestern University, graduating early and with high honors. She received her BM in violin performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while studying with Simin Ganatra, and she has has participated in master classes with the Silk Road Ensemble, the Turtle Island String Quartet, Wendy Sharp, Roland and Almita Vamos, John McGrosso, Kurt Baldwin, Rebecca Henry, and the Parker Quartet. Nash has spent years performing with both the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, where she serves as Associate Concertmaster and Assistant Principal Second, respectively. Nash also performs with the Milwaukee Symphony, Hawaii Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Illinois Philharmonic, Lake Forest Symphony, and the Midwest Mozart Festival.
Violinist Madeline Capistran grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, where she began studying the violin at age nine with her mother. As a teenager, she continued her studies with Sally O'Reilly at the University of Minnesota. Madeline holds a B.M. in violin performance from Michigan State University and a M.M. in violin performance from DePaul University in Chicago, where she studied with Ilya Kaler. As an active chamber and orchestral musician, Madeline was a member of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, in addition to participating in such summer programs as Musicorda, Meadowmount, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, the Hot Springs Music Festival, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chamber Music Institute.
Bruno Vaz da Silva began studying viola in 2004 in his native Brazil at the Escola de Musica de Brasilia, and after one year, he placed in a solo competition and had the opportunity to perform with the Orquestra Sinfonica da Escola de Musica de Brasilia. He graduated from the conservatory in two-and-a-half years – a program that normally takes eight years to complete – and has subsequently performed with the Bensenville Chamber Orchestra, Renovo String Orchestra, North Park University Symphony Orchestra, Brasilia Philharmonic, University of Brasilia String Orchestra, and Art-Brasilia Orchestra, among other ensembles. As a soloist, Silva has won top prizes and has performed with Midwest Young Artists, Orquestra Sinfonica da Escola de Musica de Brasilia, North Park University Symphony Orchestra, Mode Ensemble and the Orquestra Art-Brasilia, also performing in various orchestras in both summer and winter music festivals.
Cellist Laura Shaw is a registered Cello Suzuki Teacher Trainer. She completed her long term Suzuki training with Pamela Devenport at the Hartt School of Music. Shaw earned her DMA from the University of Iowa, studying with Anthony Arnone and Hannah Holman. She has a Masters of Music from the University of Hartford, and a BA from Luther College. Shaw currently serves as Associate Principal of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and has also performed with Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Falls Symphony, and as a member of the Corridor Piano Trio. Over the years, she has won numerous awards, including the Pelzer Award at the University of Iowa and the Fort Dodge Concerto Competition.
Soirée: A Night in Italy will take place at the Figge Art Museum on October 19, the event beginning with 5:30 p.m. cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and the 6:30 p.m. dinner, auction, paddle raise, and performance. Admission is $150/person, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)424-7735 and visiting QCSO.org.
