Nova Singers, led by award-winning conductor Dr. Laura L. Lane, is celebrating its 29th season of bringing the finest choral music to audiences in Galesburg and the Quad Cities.  This season includes some wonderful extras, in addition to the superb 20-voice ensemble that the region has come to know and love.  Nova opens the season on October 25th and 26th with Stories in Song, a fun program that explores choral works that tell stories.  Look for Eric Whitacre's playful Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, Dinerstein's emotionally powerful When David Heard, a thrilling Bollywood tune, and a song from the hit movie Frozen!  At A Nova Christmas in December, join the many families who have made celebrating the holidays with Nova Singers their annual tradition!  We'll sing new jazz arrangements of some of your favorite Christmas carols, an African carol with drums, and Kevin Memley's incomparable O Magnum Mysterium.  In February's Journeys & Transformations, Nova presents the world premiere of a new work based on Carl Sandburg's poetry by famed composer Abbie Betinis. Enjoy this thematic program that will take surprising journeys and explore different kinds of transformation, from Vaughan Williams' extraordinary Three Shakespeare Songs, to Rautavaara's dark and intense Suite de Lorca, to the pure joy of Talbot's Santiago. The season concludes in April with Lullabies & Folksongs; harpist, Erin Freund, joins us for gorgeous harmonies of Brahms and the nostalgia and charm of familiar English and American folksongs.  You will also love Conrad Susa's Carols and Lullabies featuring harp, guitar and marimba.

The full schedule of performances is as follows:

Stories in Song

Saturday, October 25, 7:30 p.m., Kresge Hall, Knox College, Galesburg
Sunday, October 26, 4:00 p.m., St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport

A Nova Christmas
Friday, December 19, 7:30 p.m., St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport
Saturday, December 20, 7:30 p.m., First Lutheran Church, Galesburg

Journeys & Transformations
Saturday, February 14, 7:30 p.m., Kresge Hall, Knox College, Galesburg
Sunday, February 15, 4:00 p.m., St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport

Lullabies & Folksongs, featuring Erin Freund, harp

Saturday, April 18, 7:30 p.m., Kresge Hall, Knox College, Galesburg

Sunday, April 19, 4:00 p.m., St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport

SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW - $60 for adults, $50 for seniors.

Subscribers to Nova's 2014-2015 Season receive four concerts at an excellent discount.

Individual concert tickets available at the door.  Adults $18, Seniors (65+) $15, Students Free.

Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, hope to share this fantastic listening experience with you.  Nova Singers is known for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the spirit and charm the singers impart to their music.  Dr. Lane has been serving the greater Galesburg and Quad-Cities communities for over twenty-five years, bringing her passion for music and expressive singing to audiences and singers alike.

For more information, call Nova Singers at 309-341-7038 or e-mail nova@knox.edu. Information is also available at www.novasingers.com.  Nova Singers' 29th season is partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council and the Quad City Arts.

Thursday, September 11, 2014 -- 7:00 p.m. at The Muddy Waters

This Thursday, September 11, The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents Stormcellar at The Muddy Waters, 1708 State Street, Bettendorf, IA. The show starts at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $5 per person.

Stormcellar, from Sydney, is one of the top alternate music acts in Australia. This six-piece band, described as a mix of Urban Roots, Electric Blues, Modern Folk and Alt Country, is coming through Bettendorf in the middle of their second US tour.

Built on the bones of a straightforward lineup of bass, slide, guitar, drums and harp, Stormcellar should fit neatly into a typical band category. Add a mandolin, a singer with the range and power to travel from Gospel to Southern Rock, throw in the occasional fiddle, a bit of Folk, complex arrangements and lyrics that do more than just rhyme, and you have a very interesting beast: an original band indeed.

Americana bible No Depression magazine says "Stormcellar - The Rolling Stones fronted by James Taylor - a powerhouse songwriting act with a formidable live show. Straight up." They have been on the Australian Blues & Roots Charts for 22 months and have two #1 albums, along with positioning themselves in the top 50 on US National Blues Charts.

This event is being presented by The Mississippi Valley Blues Society. The objective of the Society is to educate the general public about the native art form of blues-related music through performance, interpretation and preservation, thus enhancing appreciation and understanding.

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The Old Creamery Theatre has hosted Courtyard Concerts this summer, one Friday per month, May through September featuring local bands and food. The concert will be free to everyone with a ticket to that Friday night's Main Stage theatre performance or $5 admission without a theatre ticket.

The last Courtyard Concert of the summer will take place from 5-7 pm in the Old Creamery's Courtyard on September 12 and features Billy Heller, a local favorite musician. A testimonial about his musical talents states: "To call him a singer is an injustice, Billy is an entertainer.  While it's easy to focus on the incredible vocals, Bill's real passion is for the guitar which he's been mastering since the Beatles broke up."

P.H.A.T. Daddy's will be at our Courtyard Concert on September 12 selling their delicious food! For more information, please visit their website at http://www.phat-daddys.com

Call the box office at 319-622-6262 or go online to www.oldcreamery.com for more details.  To read more about Billy Heller visit http://billyheller.wordpress.com/ for more information.

Spencer is scheduled for two free public performances:

• Tuesday September 9, 7:00 p.m.–River Music Experience, 2^nd & Main Streets, Davenport IA
• Wednesday September 10, 7:00 p.m.–Co-op Records, 3727 Avenue of the Cities, Moline IL

Please check our website at www.mvbs.org for updates on Spencer's public performances.

Spencer Bohren was born and raised in Wyoming, where he sang in a family choir that performed in churches, schools, and nursing homes.  He acquired his first guitar at the age of 14, and

began his personal study of the blues by listening intently to all the music he could get his hands on and integrating it into his guitar playing.  In 1968 this study became even more focused when he played in a duo called Eagle Ridin' Papa, named after a Big Bill Broonzy song and featuring the music of the Mississippi Sheiks, Bo Carter, Robert Johnson, Skip James, Snooks Eaglin, and dozens of other legendary blues musicians. Soon thereafter, Spencer moved to Denver, where he played with and learned from such blues legends as Bukka White and the Reverend Gary Davis.

Spencer moved to New Orleans in 1975, where he began performing regularly in popular clubs such as Tipitina's and the Absinthe Bar.  Often he was paired with legends Professor Longhair, Earl King, Clifton Chenier, or James Booker.  In 1983 Spencer began a seven-year tour all over the U.S. with his family in an Airstream trailer towed by his 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.  He later toured extensively in Europe and Japan.  In 1997 Spencer returned to New Orleans, which he considers his spiritual home.  His first recording came out in 1984, and since then he's released numerous albums.

In 1997, Spencer developed Down the Dirt Road Blues, his award-winning history of American music, which he has presented to thousands of students of all ages, as well as concert audiences in America and Europe. Spencer fell upon the approach of using a single melody and letting that song transform and migrate in a possible and probable historical context to illustrate the way blues has informed American music for three centuries.  The result is based on a song first recorded by Charley Patton in the late 1920s and easily adaptable to a variety of American musical styles, from Delta blues to Memphis jug band, Appalachia to Nashville, Chicago to rock & roll, Beatlemania, and the British invasion. It follows the journey of a single song's journey from 16th Century Africa through America's culture and history up through the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.  Down the Dirt Road Blues not only follows the song, it also is a commentary on the relationship between American history and music.  Spencer talks about slavery, the Great Migration, racial integration through music in Memphis, the impact of radio on the cross-cultural spread of music, payola and its influence on popular music, and geographical styles and rhythms.

Down the Dirt Road Blues is performed on a variety of vintage instruments to add authenticity to the various versions of the song.  Spencer Bohren's soulful vocals carry the listener to the exact time and place of each rendition.  Listeners of all ages find themselves mesmerized with the story, curious to hear where the song travels next.

Spencer Bohren's residency this September is made possible by major support from the Riverboat Development Authority.  Additional support is provided by Alcoa, The Lodge, River Music Experience, and KALA radio.