“Up Close with Violins of Hope" at the Figge Art Museum -- April 18.
Saturday, April 18, 7:30 p.m.
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
On April 18, guests of Davenport's Figge Art Museum are invited to experience powerful masterpieces paired with emotionally resonant works embodying remembrance and resilience, the concert event Up Close with Violins of Hope boasting the exquisite musicianship of Quad City Symphony Orchestra members Hillary Kingsley and Erik Rohde on violin, Nick Munagian on viola, and Hannah Holman on cello.
As Hillary Kingsley states in her online biography: " I have two decades of experience as a performer and teacher on violin and viola. With degrees in music performance from the University of Georgia and the University of Minnesota, I now enjoy teaching my own students and have a particular fondness for teaching adult amateurs. I regularly perform with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout the Midwest and love providing beautiful music for weddings and events in my home city of Minneapolis."
Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia. He is the newly appointed Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa, the Music Director of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN), and the founding artistic director of the Salomon Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra dedicated to promoting the works of living composers and of Haydn and his contemporaries. Prior to his appointment at the University of Northern Iowa, Rohde served as the Director of String Activities and Orchestra at Indiana State University where he conducted the Indiana State University Symphony Orchestra and taught violin, chamber music, and Suzuki pedagogy.
An associate principal viola player with the QCSO since 2013, Suzuki grad Nick Munagian completed a Master of Music in viola performance at Northwestern University and became a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Founded in 1919, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago is the only training orchestra affiliated with a major American orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Recruited from the best music schools in the country and around the world, members of the Chicago Civic are given the incredible opportunity to be mentored by musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor, Cliff Colnot.
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra's principal cellist, Holman has held her position with the QCSO since 2008. From 2002 to 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. She regularly performs in chamber ensembles with musicians from throughout the United States and Europe. Holman studied at the Eastman School of Music and Michigan State University, where she completed her Bachelor of Music degree. She obtained her Master of Music Degree with Fritz Magg at the New England Conservatory, and the artist was fortunate enough to have several lessons with William Pleeth in London as postgraduate study.
The scheduled repertoire for Up Close with Violins of Hope includes: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 25, First Movement arranged for quartet [8’]; Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Second Movement 2nd arranged for quartet [8’]; Samuel Barber's Adagio from String Quartet Op.11 [8’]; Franz Schubert's rlkönig arranged for quartet [4’]; and Steve Reich's Different Trains for string quartet and tape [27’].
Presented in partnership with Violins of Hope and the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, Up Close with Violins of Hope will be performed at Davenport's Figge Art Museum on April 18, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert event is $13-31, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)322-7276 and visiting QCSO.org.
