Iowa FFA Holds 86th Annual Conference

ANKENY, Iowa--FFA members across Iowa will be celebrating success when they gather for the 86th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference on April 27-29 at Iowa State University's Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference is the 4th largest of its kind in the National FFA Organization.

"Ignite," the theme for this year's convention, is geared toward individual leadership, growth, and success. It also seeks to challenge FFA members to think about how they can "ignite today and the future."

The annual conference will provide agricultural education students the opportunity to participate in Career Development Event competitions, be recognized for accomplishments in events during the past year, become inspired by motivational speakers, interact with college and business professionals, and develop leadership skills. Chapter delegates and Iowa FFA Officers will also conduct the annual business session to make decisions for the student run Iowa FFA Association. Students will also be engaged in a service project with Meals from the Heartland with a goal of packaging 250,000 meals.

Several exciting guests will be present at the 2014 Iowa FFA Leadership Conference. These include keynote speakers Ian Tyson, co-founder of Youth Leadership Camps Canada; and Bill Fennelly, Iowa State University Women's Basketball Coach. National FFA Central Region Vice President and Iowa native, Steven Brockshus; and National FFA Advisor, Dr. Steve Brown will also address the conference.

The Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference is possible with support from the following partners of the Iowa FFA Foundation: Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Farm Credit Services of America, Des Moines Area Community College, and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

The Iowa FFA Association has 219 local chapters with over 14,200 FFA members. FFA is a national organization of nearly 580,000 members preparing for leadership and careers in science, business and technology of agriculture. Local, state and national programs provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. FFA's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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Iowa FFA Association to Pack 250,000 Meals at State Leadership Conference

AMES, IA - The Iowa FFA Association and Meals from the Heartland are proud to announce that they will partner together to package 250,000 meals at the 86th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa on Sunday, April 27th and Monday, April 28th. 2014 marks the third year these two organizations have engaged in this partnership.

More than 1,500 FFA members from throughout Iowa, in addition to Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, are expected to volunteer in this effort to package 250,000 rice-soy meals.

Meals from the Heartland is a non-profit organization composed of volunteers who package meals for delivery to starving people in Iowa, the United States and around the world. Since 2008, Meals from the Heartland has provided more than 39 million meals to the food insecure.

This packaging event is made possible with support from the Iowa FFA Foundation and its partners: the Iowa Food and Family Project, a part of the Iowa Soybean Association and GROWMARK.

The Iowa FFA Association has 219 local chapters with over 14,200 FFA members. FFA is a national organization of nearly 580,000 members preparing for leadership and careers in science, business and technology of agriculture. Local, state and national programs provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. FFA's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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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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