ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 17, 2009 - The wind blew and the crowd rocked as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association wrapped up its first ever Rock the River Tour. On a blustery Sunday at St. Paul's Harriet Island Park, 23,000 people turned out for a day of rock and hip hop with a positive message.

The evangelistic summer concert tour started in July in Baton Rouge, La., and traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, into the Quad Cities (Davenport, Iowa), and Minneapolis-St. Paul. A total of 112,798 people attended the summer series.

"This all happened because God put a burden on my heart for young people-how can we reach kids of this generation? For so many their lives are upside down and in a mess and they don't even know why," said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and international relief organization Samaritan's Purse. "That's why I'm so excited that we've had this opportunity to share the message of God's love with all of these young people. It's a chance to change thousands of young lives."

Graham shared brief, challenging Gospel messages multiple times during each Rock the River Tour event. A total of 2,871 responded to Graham's invitation to follow Jesus Christ. Along with the music and messages from Franklin Graham, Rock the River Tour included skateboard and wakeboard exhibitions.

Music artists participating in the Rock the River Tour included Flyleaf, Kirk Franklin, Superchick, DecembeRadio, Flame, Canton Jones and Lecrae.

This coming Wednesday your chance to meet Music Director and Conductor Mark Russell Smith at Barnes and Noble, NorthPark Mall, Davenport. The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is hosting a bookfair at Barnes and Noble on July 22 and a percentage of the proceeds from items purchased in the store that day - everything from CDs to coffee - will be directed to the QCSO.

Music Director and Conductor Mark Russell Smith will be meeting with music lovers and hosting a presentation of next year's Masterworks repertoire starting at 5:30 PM. Barnes and Noble is also stocking recordings of much of next year's repertoire so you can spend more time with the music before hearing it live. Maestro Smith's presentation will last about a half-hour with time for questions and photos after the presentation. Present a voucher at check-out and a percentage of the proceeds from the items purchased will be directed to the QCSO. Vouchers can be downloaded at www.QCSymphony.com.

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The 250th anniversary of the life of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) will be celebrated in the Blackhawk Chamber Music Festival's Bach and Telemann celebrate Handel's 250th Anniversary with mezzo soprano Vivien Shotwell, flutist Jeffrey Cohan, guitarist Oleg Timofeyef and harpsichordist Larry Peterson on Sunday, July 12 at 7:00 PM at Ascension Chapel at Augustana College, at 639 - 38th Street in Rock Island.

The suggested donation, a free will offering, will be $15, and students 18 years of age and under are encouraged to come for free. For further information please see www.bhcmf.org.

The program will feature 18th-century cantatas for mezzo soprano, flute, guitar and harpsichord including Johann Sebastian Bach's beautiful well-known cantata Ich habe genug, and the cantata Ihr volker hört by Georg Philipp Telemann from his series of cantatas for each Sunday of the year entitled the Harmonischer Gottesdienst ("the Harmonic Church Service"). The program will also include one of George Frideric Handel's beautiful Deutsche Arien ("German Arias") for mezzo soprano, flute and accompanying instruments, along with flute sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

Now in its 9th season, the Black Hawk Chamber Music Festival offers a midsummer bouquet of chamber music by famous and little-known composers, illuminating many unusual aspects of musical performance from the Renaissance through the present, and sometimes providing an opportunity to hear these works performed on exact replicas of the instruments with which the composers were familiar. Festival repertoire ranges from classical favorites and new works written for the performers to unpublished chamber music from the Library of Congress. The festival brings together artists from the region and other world-class musicians from around the country and abroad.

The second concert  of the Bear River Concert Serious will be June 27th at 7 PM in the Sill Barn on the Camp Courageous property.  The second of seven scheduled concerts will be featuring Small Potatoes.

Small Potatoes, the Chicago based folk duo of Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso, say it has taken them years of careful indecision to develop a repertoire they describe as "Celtic to Cowboy."  Superb musicianship and award-winning songwriting, and a strong sense of tradition has made them as Dirty Linen Magazine said,  "one of the most polished, inventive and entertaining shows on the circuit."  Get more information about Small Potatoes at http://www.smallpotatoesmusic.com.

Monticello orchardist and general contractor, Douglas Monk, is partnering with Camp Courageous, The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, and the Grant Wood Country Foundation for the Arts, to co-host the "2009 Bear River Concert Series." The seven concerts, from May through November, will be held in the rustic Sill Barn on the Camp Courageous property, with the exception of the September concert, "Applejam," which will be at the Monk's property. Each concert brings nationally recognized talent to Monticello, Iowa.

The music series began as a dream for Douglas Monk and his wife, Micaela, when they planted their apple orchard in April of 2002. "Can't you just picture trees laden with red and yellow apples, families coming out for a day in the country, and live music in the orchard?" Douglas would say to his wife. But Monk didn't want to wait five years before the trees bore fruit, so they hosted their first music festival the following September, calling it "Applejam."

In 2003, due to the weather, they hosted the event in their 100-year-old post-and-beam barn. The venue started with an open mike, followed by a large pot luck, and finished with a professional musician. Every year, Applejam got a little bigger, a little more polished. Musicians began getting wind of Applejam from as far away as Nashville, Tennessee and England.

In December of 2008, Monk's wife, Micaela, spotted a notice in the Monticello Express regarding the Jones County Endowment Fund, which stated a grant was available to be used for such things as "recreation, tourism, improving the quality of life and enhancing the economic well-being of Jones County residents."

Doug and Micaela met with Scott and Michelle Dalziel, two singer-songwriters who had previously performed at Applejam, to discuss applying for the grant. Michelle suggested that rather than envision just one event, why not do a whole series of concerts and name it after the Maquoketa River which flows through this part of the state. "Did you know the Native Americans called the river 'the Bear River' (Maquoketa River) after all the black bear in the area?" she said.

Melissa Stelhorn, a family friend, suggested it might be mutually advantageous to partner with Camp Courageous, a non-profit camp that serves over 5,000 individual of all ages with disabilities each year.  Since the camp runs on donations they could direct a portion of the proceeds toward the camp.  In January, Doug, Micaela, and Melissa sat down with Charlie Becker at Camp Courageous to share their idea. Out of this came the "2009 Bear River Concert Series."
The first concert on May 30th with Scott and Michelle Dalziel and Beth Wood was well attended.

The second Concert will be June 27th at 7 PM with Small Potatoes (http://www.smallpotatoesmusic.com). July 18th at 7 PM with Gayla Drake Paul (http://www.skep.com/gdpaul). August 29th at 7 PM with GDP3. September 12th "Applejam" at Monk's orchard at 4:30 PM with local artists and Fran Snyder (http://fransnyder.com). October 31 at 7 PM with Joe Jenks (http://www.joejencks.com). November 28th at 7 PM with John Smith (http://www.johnsmithmusic.com).