Davenport, IA-The Quad City Symphony Orchestra and WVIK-Quad Cities NPR are presenting Trio 826, a string trio including QCSO Principal Cellist Hannah Holman, as the fifth installment of their Signature Series. Trio 826 will be performing trios by composers that have a connection to the holocaust, either by being persecuted or helping the resistance. Trio 826 is performing on Sunday, April 13, at 3:00 p.m. at the Tri-City Jewish Center in Rock Island. This performance is presented by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities.

Trio 826 is comprised of Susanna Klein, violin; Hannah Holman, cello; and Julia Bullard, viola. The program will feature music by Gideon Klein, Hans Krasa, Ernst Krenek, Erno Dohnanyi, and Felix Mendelssohn. Trio 826 will be joined by Dr. Stephen J. Gaies, Director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education and Professor of Languages and Literatures at the University of Northern Iowa. The concert will include discussion, reflection, and music. Trio 826 was created in 2011 by three friends to explore ideas for innovation in the performance of classical music.

The members of Trio 826 have vast experience as orchestral and chamber musicians, soloists, and educators. The mission of Trio 826 is to be an agent of change in the classical arena. Their hope is to be curious about their audience, risky in their presentations, and do everything it takes to bring classical music to life. Trio 826 performs new and standard repertoire in a variety of venues, from formal concerts to shows in intimate, informal, and unusual settings.  For 2012, the trio commissioned a work entitled "Soneando" by University of Northern Iowa Faculty Composer Robert Washut.

The Signature Series is presented by WVIK-Quad Cities NPR in collaboration with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Augustana College. Rebroadcast on WVIK, this versatile and intimate six-concert series features select members of the QCSO and visiting artists from across the nation. Under the artistic direction of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, the Signature Series is a testament to the vitality of the classical music community in the Quad Cities. This performance by Trio 826 will be rebroadcast on WVIK-Quad Cities NPR 90.3 FM on Sunday, April 20, at 7:00 p.m.

WVIK/QCSO Signature Series

Forbidden: The Music of the Holocaust

Sunday, April 13, at 3:00 p.m.

Tri-City Jewish Center, Rock Island

Presented by the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities

The Tri-City Jewish Center is located at 2715 30th Street in Rock Island. Tickets for the WVIK/QCSO Signature Series are $25, with a $10 student ticket available. Get your tickets today by calling 563.322.QCSO (7276) or visiting www.qcsymphony.com. Tickets will also be available at the door.

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Davenport, IA-Quad City Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce the appointment of Benjamin Klemme as its new Assistant Conductor, Community Engagement Coordinator and Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Music Director. This newly created position will serve as the QCSYEs' artistic liaison with community groups and educational institutions and will work to further the mission of the QCSO and QCSYEs. "The QCSO Board of Trustees Education Committee is very pleased to welcome Benjamin Klemme as our Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles Music Director and Community Engagement Coordinator. Ben is uniquely qualified to fulfill these duties. He is a native of the Quad Cities, a graduate of the Quad Cities Youth Orchestra, and, in addition to his excellent conducting skills, he has very valuable experience collaborating with educational systems to provide students with the best musical experience possible," said Education Committee Chair Jacqueline O'Donnell. "We know Ben will move our education programs up to a new level and we look forward to working with him."

Benjamin Klemme has his Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Minnesota where he conducts the University's Campus Orchestras and is an Assistant Conductor of the Opera Theatre. He also serves the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies as Concert Orchestra Conductor and MacPhail Center for Music as Chamber Orchestra Conductor. Klemme's previous conducting posts include Assistant Conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and Music Director of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association. He has guest conducted the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music New Music Ensemble, Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival, Oskaloosa Chamber Music Festival, and the University of Minnesota Summer Orchestra. Klemme received his Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music and his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Northern Iowa. His principal conducting teachers include Mark Russell Smith, Carl Topilow, Louis Lane, Rebecca Burkhardt and Ronald Johnson.

Dedicated to finding innovative ways to employ his commitment to music education, Benjamin Klemme actively works to develop partnerships with schools and performers in his community to go beyond his work on the podium. In New Mexico, he helped bring classical music to life for young people through his work with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival's "Music In Our Schools" program, and was the founding music department chair at New Mexico School for the Arts; in Ohio he conducted the Scordatura Chamber Orchestra-a Cleveland-based ensemble designed to achieve classroom learning objectives in language arts, math, science, and social studies through the creative presentation of parallel classical music principles; in Iowa he served as the associate conductor of the Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra.

Klemme is a former Quad City resident and was himself a member of the Quad City Symphony Youth Orchestra. Klemme returns to the Quad Cities from the Twin Cities with his wife, violinist Deborah Coltvet Klemme, and two sons.

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is also proud to announce Stephen D. Mohr as its new Director of Development. Mr. Mohr most recently served as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the Figge Art Museum. He is also on the Board of the Association of Professional Fundraisers where he holds the office of Treasurer and also writes regularly for their quarterly newsletter. Mr. Mohr is taking the place of Paul Plagenz who recently accepted a position as Director of Development for the Western Illinois University-Quad Cities campus.

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Governor Quinn Announces $100 Million for Local Transportation Improvements Across Illinois

Illinois Jobs Now! Investments Include $3.2Million for Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Warren and Whiteside Counties to Address Critical Needs Following Historic Winter

CHICAGO - As the spring thaw begins, Governor Pat Quinn today announced $100 million from the Illinois Jobs Now! construction program to repair municipal and township infrastructure throughout the state. The funding will help communities throughout Illinois combat potholes and make other critical infrastructure repairs following the historic winter weather Illinois faced. Today's announcement is part of the Governor's agenda to create jobs and build a 21st century infrastructure that will drive Illinois' economy forward.

"The extreme and historic winter has left many roads in rough shape," Governor Quinn said. "This investment will help local communities repair the damage done by Mother Nature and improve the quality of life for residents and businesses."

Today's announcement includes approximately $3.2 million for local governments in Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, Warren and Whiteside Counties. The funding is the last of a series of annual transportation investments that municipalities have received through Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! program since 2010. In his fiscal year 2015 budget address, the Governor proposed a bipartisan working group to develop a new capital spending plan for the next five years.

The projects will be selected and managed locally, with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) providing oversight.

"This capital funding for local transportation projects shows our continued dedication to supporting local governments," IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider said. "These local projects will improve the quality of life for residents, stimulate the economy and address immediate infrastructure needs."

In addition to the Illinois Jobs Now! funds announced today, local governments in the counties listed above will receive more than $18.4 million in Motor Fuel Tax funds this year.

Late last week two bond rating agencies released their reviews of Illinois' finances ahead of the upcoming sale of $250 million in General Obligation bonds that will finance roads, bridges and schools around the state. While they say the state still has work to do, they note the hard work the state has done to cut costs, pay down old bills and pass a comprehensive pension reform plan. Both agencies agreed that the Governor's proposed budget would bring long-term fiscal stability to Illinois.

According to Fitch Ratings, "The governor's recommended budget for the coming fiscal year would ... provide a basis for the state to achieve fiscal balance."

For a list of the local governments receiving funding through today's announcement, please visit dot.il.gov.