The 30th season of the Quad City Wind Ensemble (QCWE) continues with a free holiday concert featuring the Big River Brass Band (BRBB).  The concert will be Sunday, December 13 at 3:00 p.m. in the Galvin Fine Arts Center, 517 W. Locust St., on the campus of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA.  The event is free and open to the public.  This is the 4th year the BRBB has been featured during the holiday QCWE concert.

The QCWE is conducted by Brian Hughes, who was recently named a finalist in The American Prize award for band/wind ensemble conducting.  In 2012 the QCWE was the Community Division winner of The American Prize in Band/Wind Ensemble Performance.  The QCWE was founded in 1987 by Dr. Charles B. DCamp of St. Ambrose University, and has become one of the finest adult bands in the nation.  For additional information, please visit www.qcwindensemble.org, or http://www.facebook.com/qcwindensemble.  Please contact info@qcwindensemble.org for further information about the Quad City Wind Ensemble.

The BRBB was co-founded by Ed Butterfield, retired band director for Rock Island High School and Jerry Miller, John Deere retiree.  Miller saw a picture of the Deere Cornet Band in a book about Deere's history and decided to revive a brass band using Deere employees in order to carry on the Deere tradition.  Ed Butterfield later retired as director and was succeeded by current conductor Brian Burke. Since 2006, regular concerts have been played in Aledo, Geneseo, Rock Island, Moline, Bettendorf, and at the Festival of Trees in Davenport. The BRBB plays in the style of European brass bands and draws literature from classic brass band, jazz arrangements for brass band, and continues to search for new music.  For additional information, please visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/bigriverbrassband

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Seasonal Performance also Includes The Nutcracker Suite and Hansel and Gretel

St. Ambrose professor Marian Lee will be featured in the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's seasonal Masterworks III:  Winter Fun - Mozart and More performances.  Two performances are scheduled.  One is Saturday, December 5 at 8:00 p.m. at the Adler Theatre in Davenport.  The second performance is Sunday, December 7 at 2:00 p.m. in Centennial Hall in Rock Island on the Augustana College campus.

The performances will feature Lee on piano in Mozart's Piano Concerto #21, the slow movement of which was used as the theme song to the movie Elvira Madigan.  Listeners will also catch the the spirit of the season in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, Humperdinck's Prelude to Hansel and Gretel and a potpourri of sleigh rides by Mozart, Prokofiev, Delius, and Anderson.

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra has also extended special invitations to the military and music teachers for the performances.  The Rock Island Arsenal USO and the Federated Music Teachers of the Quad Cities will join under the QCSO's new engagement program Communities in Concert.

Mark Russell Smith, QCSO's Music Director, conducts.

Group and student pricing is available for all performances.

More information and tickets for performances and events are available at www.qcso.org
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Charge into another dimension with an action-packed anime adventure when Fathom Events, ELEVEN ARTS and VIZ Media present an exclusive cinema event featuring "BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE", the exciting new installment of the popular NARUTO series, in select cinemas nationwide on Sunday, December 13 at 12:55 p.m. local time and Monday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. local time.
The cinematic event, which will be presented with original Japanese dialogue and English subtitles, includes a special introduction from New York Comic Con, featuring opening remarks by Masashi Kishimoto, the film's executive producer and the creator of the bestselling manga (also published by VIZ Media), as well as the famed Japanese voice of Naruto, Junko Takeuchi. The movie's plot centers on Naruto as the Seventh Hokage, as Hidden Leaf Village is planning to host the Chunin Exams to train new shinobi from the village and from their allied villages.


"BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE" will be shown at the following movie theaters in your area on December 13:
Cinemark Davenport 18 with IMAX 3601 E 53Rd St Davenport IA 52807
Tickets are available Dec. 4 at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

Catch the spirit of the season in a delightful potpourri of classic favorites including Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, Mozart's Piano Concerto #21 with St. Ambrose professor Marian Lee, and a set of Sleigh Rides.  Also featuring music of Humperdinck, Prokofiev, Delius, and Anderson.

First Groups Engaged are the Military, and Music Teachers

So what does one do after a blockbuster 100th anniversary celebration? After the 100th season which featured the massive 100 Years, 100 Cellos project and superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma in the Concert of the Century, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) was seeking the best way to foray into a new century of music making. The question is answered! 

The QCSO has launched Communities in Concert, an initiative designed to renew the effort to reach out and engage Quad Cities' communities by inviting and welcoming them into their orchestral family.  Two communities (the military and music teachers) have already been selected for the special programs.


The QCSO is collaborating with the USO of Illinois at the Rock Island Arsenal to provide tickets to active duty, Guard and Reserve military and their guests to attend Masterworks III:  Winter Fun, December 5 and 6, 2015 and Masterworks VI:  The Resurrection, April 2 and 3, 2016 through the USO's Tickets for Troops program.

"We have a lot of options for our troops in the Chicago area but fewer in the Quad Cities, and our troops have been asking for more entertainment here," shared Jackie Inman, Rock Island Center Director, USO of Illinois.  "We're really appreciative of the opportunity to make symphony performances available to our troops."

Another Communities in Concert event is planned with the Federated Music Teachers Association of the Quad Cities (FMTA).   Comprised principally of piano teachers and students, the FMTA will invite their members and students to enjoy the Masterworks III program that showcases FMTA member and St. Ambrose University piano professor Marian Lee in Mozart's Piano Concerto #21.

"The FMTA is all about great music.  This unique program helps us deliver superb performances to our members and students and provides us with a great networking platform," hummed Joyce Hesse, FMTA-QC President.

Each group is provided special offers and a chance to see future performances at a discount.

"We see Communities in Concert as a way to fulfill our mission of cultural leadership in the Quad Cities community," said Benjamin Loeb, QCSO Executive Director.  "The QCSO has a variety of conversations in progress with additional QC communities, and we invite anyone interested to reach out to us to develop a program.  We've survived here 100 years because we're a vibrant part of this community, and we want to increase our outreach and engagement as advance into the next century."

More information and tickets for performances and events are available at www.qcso.org
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Davenport, Iowa - It was 1995. Jeri Leinen Moeller, CASI's founder and past President, approached a retired music teacher, Bob Gaston, to start a band for senior citizens. With no equipment or music library, he recruited six musicians to help put the word of the bands inception into the music community. What started as an opportunity for older musicians to gather and play their instruments, soon became only the second band in Iowa to become a part of the International New Horizons Band movement.
Fast forward 20 years, that small group of six has grown to more than 60 musicians with a full concert band instrumentation. The steady growth in membership and reputation is due largely to the twenty years of voluntary and able leadership from Bob Gaston.
Today, on November 19, Bob's hard work, perseverance and leadership have earned him the DAR Community Service Award for his dedicated service as the Director of CASI - The Center for Active Seniors, Inc., New Horizons Band. Presented by the Hannah Caldwell Chapter of the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, Mr. Gaston proudly accepted the award in front of his band and the CASI Community today at the Center for Active Seniors.
"Bob Gaston has used his own money to buy music and found people to donate equipment throughout the years," said Bernadine McGuire, CASI band member.
Mr. Gaston has continued to direct the band, as a volunteer without pay for the past 20 years. Today the band has over 60 members and is in demand to play concerts all over the Quad Cities. Contributing to the culture and patriotism of the Quad Cities, the band regularly performs a variety of patriotic and popular music throughout the area. The band also enhances the lives of seniors who are able to share their musical talents by performing in the band. The CASI New Horizons Band celebrated its 20th anniversary in September with a free concert and reception at CASI in Davenport.
Holiday Pops:  Cirque de la Symphonie is This Weekend!
3 Spectacular Shows at the Adler Theatre
November 20, 8:00 p.m., November 21 2:00 p.m. and November 21 8:00 p.m.


Cirque de la Symphonie is a jaw-dropping spectacle!  Artists include aerial flyers, acrobats, dancers,  and balancers.  Enjoy popular holiday music like White Christmas, Deck the Halls and We Wish You a Merry Christmas along with beloved classical movements from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.  Featuring the QCSO Youth Choir and First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Choir, it's fun for the whole family!
"What great fun! My son and daughter-in-law didn't even blink when I asked if they wanted to go with me again!"  - Cheryl F., Davenport

Performances made possible by Genesis Health System, Kimberly BMW, US Bank and The Bechtel Trusts

Check out the video preview!
WE WERE HERE TOUR 2016
JASON ALDEAN WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
THOMAS RHETT
A THOUSAND HORSES
THURSDAY, JANUARY 14
IWIRELESS CENTER
MOLINE, IL.
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20 AT 10AM!
Ticketmaster Outlets | iWireless Center Box Office | 800-745-3000

For the third year in a row the Davenport Chordbusters will hold a concert to celebrate the season and benefit Churches United of the Quad City Area.  Come out December 11th to Heritage Church in Rock Island to "Celebrate the Holidays."  Everyone is welcome and admission is by free will donation.

"We are excited that once again Chordbusters are offering this opportunity, not only for the community to see a great holiday show, but also for Churches United to benefit," said Anne Wachal, executive director for Churches United.  "The holiday season is a time of giving and receiving and we think this is a great example of that."

The show starts at 7:00pm on Friday, December 11, 2015.  It will be held at Heritage Church, located at 4801 44th Street, Rock Island, and will feature special guests Bend of the River Chorus, Hersong, RiverBend Bronze, Crimson River, The Schraders, Jonathan Turner, QC Music Guild Youth Chorus and Laila Haley.

Churches United is a non-profit organization in the Quad Cities that serves the community through various ministries: including 26 food pantries, 3 hot meal sites, Winnie's Place, a shelter for women and children who are homeless or victims of domestic violence, and Winnie's Wishes, the resale shop which proceeds directly benefit Winnie's Place.  All money raised from the concert goes directly to help Churches United's Hunger Ministries.


For more information about the Chordbusters' show or about any other Churches United Events, contact Meredith Dennis, mdennis@cuqca.org or 563-676-9472.
Back by Popular Demand
QCSO Holiday Pops:  Cirque de la Symphonie
Stages Three Spectacular ALL-NEW Shows at the Adler Theatre
Friday, Nov. 20 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Jaw-dropping Spectacle Evokes Joy...Gasps!

A heart-warming holiday tradition continues this year.  The Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) Holiday Pops concert is bringing back the über-popular Cirque de la Symphonie for three, big, all-new shows at the Adler Theatre.  There will be one Friday evening, November 20 performance at 8:00 p.m. and two Saturday, November 21 performances at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

"I didn't even blink when my Mother ask me if we wanted to go again.  What great fun", stated Chris Fenderson of Davenport.

Cirque de la Symphonie wows audiences worldwide with spectacular aerial and acrobatic feats that generate gasps and "ahs" from the audience.  The unique program is also peppered with humor and laughter that makes it fun for audience members of all ages.  The talents of the guest artists truly amaze.

The program features holiday hits like White Christmas and Deck the Halls and beloved movements from classical masterpieces like Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.  This popular holiday music is performed with resounding beauty and perfection by the professional musicians of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra.  And the combination of the symphonic sounds with the angelic choral voices from the First Presbyterian Sanctuary Choir of Davenport and Quad City Symphony Youth Choir creates a wonderful kick-off to the holiday season.

"I love planning these concerts and performing alongside the amazing musicians of the QCSO, choir members and Cirque performers, to usher in the good cheer of the holiday season," shared Benjamin Klemme, QCSO Associate Conductor.  "It doesn't truly feel like the holidays without Holiday Pops!"

Tickets are available in all price categories starting at just $10 for children and students and $15 for adults ranging up to the $75 adult price for Premier Loge.

QCSO Holiday Pops:  Cirque de la Symphonie leaves audiences full of wonder and is a lively and fun holiday outing the whole family will enjoy.  There's truly something for everyone in this event.

Group and student pricing is available for all performances.

More information and tickets are available at www.qcso.org
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