QCSO extends contract with Mark Russell Smith

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce a 3-year contract renewal with Music Director and Conductor Mark Russell Smith. Currently serving his ninth season, Smith’s new contract extends through the end of the 2019-2020 season.
 
Of the renewal, Smith commented, “I am honored to continue to serve the Quad City Symphony for three more years, and hopefully many more thereafter. To be able to share the stage with the incredible musicians of the QCSO, and to bring great music to the citizens of the Quad Cities is one of the supreme joys of my life.  The orchestra is enjoying a period of fantastic artistic growth, and we are reaching and touching the lives of more and more students each year.  I look forward to continuing that momentum, and am grateful to the Board of Directors for its confidence in my leadership.”
 
“The Board of Trustees of the QCSO is pleased to have Mark Russell Smith leading our orchestra for an additional three seasons,” said Sue Honsey, Board of Trustees President.  “Although not a local resident, he has become a recognizable face in the Quad Cities community over the past 8 years, and we continue to enjoy the results of the artistic and musical leadership he provides to our very fine orchestra and our growing youth programs.”
 
"The Musicians of the QCSO are delighted that Maestro Smith has agreed to extend his contract,” said Josh Johnson, QCSO Musician Representative. “His marvelous programming, unremitting presence on the podium and genuine relationship with musicians will ensure many more years of success for the Quad City Symphony!"
 
In addition to his post in the Quad Cities, Smith serves as the Artistic Director of Orchestra Studies at the University of Minnesota and Artistic Director of the Great Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, in Minneapolis, where he currently resides. A native of Phoenix, AZ, Smith is a graduate in cello performance of the Juilliard School, where he studied with Claus Adam, and of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied conducting with Max Rudolf and Otto-Werner Mueller.
 
Smith has held positions with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra, and Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra. As a guest conductor, Smith enjoys a burgeoning international reputation that has already brought him engagements and re-engagements with prestigious American orchestras, including the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Smith will open the Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s 102nd season “Joined by a River” on October 1st at the Adler Theatre in Davenport IA.