Quad City Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO) is a United States
symphony orchestra based in Davenport, Iowa
and representing the Quad Cities
area. The current music director and conductor is Mark Russell Smith. Established in 1916, the orchestra has a full season, performing six masterwork series concerts, three pops concerts, and three chamber concerts. The 96-member orchestra principally performs at two venues: the Adler Theater
, located in downtown Davenport, and Centennial Hall on the campus of Augustana College
in Rock Island, Illinois
. The Riverfront Pops Concert in early September is held at the W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion
in LeClaire Park
on the Davenport riverfront. Its Holiday Pops Concert is performed at the i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois
. The chamber concerts are held in a more intimate setting at the Outing Club
in Davenport. It also leads a Youth Symphony and conducts extensive outreach in area schools.
as the first music director. The first name for the orchestra was the Tri-City Symphony. The Tri-Cities, as the area was then called, was the smallest community in the United States to support a full symphony orchestra.
The first rehearsal for the orchestra was held on March 12, 1916 and its first concert was held on March 29. The orchestra was composed of 60 amateur and professional musicians from the Tri-Cities. The first performance was held before an audience of 1,200 people at the orchestra's first home, the Burtis Opera House
, a vaudeville
theater in Davenport. The program included: Wagner’s
Prelude to Die Meistersinger con Nurnberg; the Wagnerian aria Dich Theure Halle sung by contralto
Esther Plumb; Franz Schubert
’s Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished); Camille Saint-Saëns
’ Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, featuring pianist Robert MacDonald; and a few shorter pieces, including a string Orchestra elegy, a waltz, and Tchaikovsky
’s Marche Slav, The orchestra’s first pops concert was held on May 6, 1917 at the Davenport Coliseum.
While the orchestra was popular among the citizens of the community, it struggled financially. At first, many of the musicians were not paid, although members of the local musicians union were paid a nominal fee. Because donations fluctuated the number of concerts the orchestra performed fluctuated. Some seasons the orchestra performed eight concerts and during other seasons they had as few as three. Because of the economy during World War I
, the 1918-19 season was cancelled. The symphony struggled to set prices that would attract audiences while at the same time enable it to cover its costs. In some cases the prices were so low that sold-out programs lost money.
. The musicians union insisted that their members receive payment, but the symphony could not afford to pay. By 1933 it was out of money. Most of the union musicians left the orchestra and were replaced by amateurs. Unable to perform its more traditional, complex programs, the orchestra offered free tickets for the 1933-34 season, except for a few seats that were sold for a quarter. Frank Kendrie, the new music director, was paid a $100 per concert.
In 1934 orchestra board member Elsie von Maur suggested they charge what the concerts were worth and return to hiring well-known guest artists. The changes worked. The orchestra started to make money, and was able to hire professional musicians again. The Junior Board was established in 1936 to sponsor fundraising projects. In 1940 Elsie von Maur became the symphony’s first manager, a position she held for 47 years.
Von Maur began the practice of the orchestra's playing the "Star Spangled Banner" on December 7, 1941, at the concert after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
. The tradition of not applauding after the national anthem dates from that same concert, when the audience’s stunned silence followed the anthem. During World War II
, students filled the chairs of musicians who had joined the military. Unlike during the previous war, attendance at the concerts remained high, and the orchestra added concerts in 1944.
) started to broadcast the orchestra’s masterworks concerts the week after the performance.
The symphony continued to grow in the 1950s. Concerts were moved to Centennial Hall at Augustana College. In the 1960s concerts were held at the Masonic Temple
in Davenport as well. In 1976 they hired Lance Willett as the first Executive Director.
in Davenport, which was renovated. At the same time, the orchestra changed its name to the Quad City Symphony to better reflect the area. On October 10, 1996 the symphony premiered Lalo Schifrin
's Rhapsody for Bix, a tribute to Davenport native and jazz great Bix Beiderbecke
. Schifrin conducted the orchestra.
On July 3, 2010 the symphony participated in the Quad Cities Independence Day
celebration, "Red, White and Boom!", for the first time. They played a 60-minute pops concert in Davenport’s LeClaire Park.
The Youth Symphony also sponsors the Youth String Ensemble for string players who are not ready to play the full orchestral repertoire of the symphony. It also sponsors Prelude Strings for 4th-grade and older students who play violin, viola or bass. The two ensembles play an annual concert.
Both organizations merged to form Volunteers for Symphony in 1996. They organize fundraisers such as the Derby Day Party in May and the Second Fiddle Sale in June to support the symphony’s music education programs. These programs are provided at no cost to students or schools.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
symphony orchestra based in Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
and representing the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
area. The current music director and conductor is Mark Russell Smith. Established in 1916, the orchestra has a full season, performing six masterwork series concerts, three pops concerts, and three chamber concerts. The 96-member orchestra principally performs at two venues: the Adler Theater
Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater
The Hotel Mississippi-RKO Orpheum Theater is located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hotel Mississippi was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2005...
, located in downtown Davenport, and Centennial Hall on the campus of Augustana College
Augustana College (Illinois)
Augustana College is a private liberal arts college located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. The college enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Covering of hilly, wooded land, Augustana is adjacent to the Mississippi River...
in Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
. The Riverfront Pops Concert in early September is held at the W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion
W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion
W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion is located on Beiderbecke Drive in LeClaire Park, Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993...
in LeClaire Park
LeClaire Park
LeClaire Park is a public park located along the Mississippi River in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is situated between two other riverfront parks: Centennial Park on the west and a new park that is being developed to the east. The park includes monuments, a bandshell. a baseball...
on the Davenport riverfront. Its Holiday Pops Concert is performed at the i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...
. The chamber concerts are held in a more intimate setting at the Outing Club
Outing Club
The Outing Club is located in the central part of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. It is a part of the Vander Veer Park Historic District, which is also on the national register....
in Davenport. It also leads a Youth Symphony and conducts extensive outreach in area schools.
Tri-City Symphony Orchestra
The orchestra began at a meeting of musicians and citizens from Davenport, Rock Island and Moline on February 10, 1916. They hired Ludwig Becker of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
as the first music director. The first name for the orchestra was the Tri-City Symphony. The Tri-Cities, as the area was then called, was the smallest community in the United States to support a full symphony orchestra.
The first rehearsal for the orchestra was held on March 12, 1916 and its first concert was held on March 29. The orchestra was composed of 60 amateur and professional musicians from the Tri-Cities. The first performance was held before an audience of 1,200 people at the orchestra's first home, the Burtis Opera House
Burtis-Kimball House Hotel/Burtis Opera House
The Burtis-Kimball House Hotel and the Burtis Opera House were located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It has since been torn down and it was delisted from the NRHP in 2008. The theatre building has been...
, a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
theater in Davenport. The program included: Wagner’s
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
Prelude to Die Meistersinger con Nurnberg; the Wagnerian aria Dich Theure Halle sung by contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
Esther Plumb; Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
’s Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished); Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
’ Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, featuring pianist Robert MacDonald; and a few shorter pieces, including a string Orchestra elegy, a waltz, and Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
’s Marche Slav, The orchestra’s first pops concert was held on May 6, 1917 at the Davenport Coliseum.
While the orchestra was popular among the citizens of the community, it struggled financially. At first, many of the musicians were not paid, although members of the local musicians union were paid a nominal fee. Because donations fluctuated the number of concerts the orchestra performed fluctuated. Some seasons the orchestra performed eight concerts and during other seasons they had as few as three. Because of the economy during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the 1918-19 season was cancelled. The symphony struggled to set prices that would attract audiences while at the same time enable it to cover its costs. In some cases the prices were so low that sold-out programs lost money.
The Great Depression
The orchestra survived until the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The musicians union insisted that their members receive payment, but the symphony could not afford to pay. By 1933 it was out of money. Most of the union musicians left the orchestra and were replaced by amateurs. Unable to perform its more traditional, complex programs, the orchestra offered free tickets for the 1933-34 season, except for a few seats that were sold for a quarter. Frank Kendrie, the new music director, was paid a $100 per concert.
In 1934 orchestra board member Elsie von Maur suggested they charge what the concerts were worth and return to hiring well-known guest artists. The changes worked. The orchestra started to make money, and was able to hire professional musicians again. The Junior Board was established in 1936 to sponsor fundraising projects. In 1940 Elsie von Maur became the symphony’s first manager, a position she held for 47 years.
Von Maur began the practice of the orchestra's playing the "Star Spangled Banner" on December 7, 1941, at the concert after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. The tradition of not applauding after the national anthem dates from that same concert, when the audience’s stunned silence followed the anthem. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, students filled the chairs of musicians who had joined the military. Unlike during the previous war, attendance at the concerts remained high, and the orchestra added concerts in 1944.
Post World War II
The symphony made its national broadcast premiere with a live concert on NBC radio’s Orchestras of the Nation on January 31, 1948. Later Augustana College’s radio station (WVIKWVIK
WVIK is the flagship National Public Radio station for the Quad Cities region of eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois. It is licensed to Rock Island, Illinois and owned by Augustana College. Studios are located on Augustana's campus in Rock Island...
) started to broadcast the orchestra’s masterworks concerts the week after the performance.
The symphony continued to grow in the 1950s. Concerts were moved to Centennial Hall at Augustana College. In the 1960s concerts were held at the Masonic Temple
Masonic Temple
Masonic Temple is a term commonly used in Freemasonry with multiple but related meanings. It is used to describe an abstract spiritual goal, the conceptual ritualistic space formed when a Masonic Lodge meets, and the physical rooms and structures in which a Lodge meets...
in Davenport as well. In 1976 they hired Lance Willett as the first Executive Director.
Quad City Symphony Orchestra
In the 1980s, the orchestra relocated its performances to the Adler Theater, the former RKO OrpheumRKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
in Davenport, which was renovated. At the same time, the orchestra changed its name to the Quad City Symphony to better reflect the area. On October 10, 1996 the symphony premiered Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin
Lalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
's Rhapsody for Bix, a tribute to Davenport native and jazz great Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
. Schifrin conducted the orchestra.
On July 3, 2010 the symphony participated in the Quad Cities Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
celebration, "Red, White and Boom!", for the first time. They played a 60-minute pops concert in Davenport’s LeClaire Park.
Youth Symphony
The Quad City Youth Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1958 to train musicians in middle, junior high and high schools. It is open to musicians from 22 school districts. The 96 musicians perform concerts in the autumn and the spring, as well as the annual Symphony Day, which is a series of education concerts for elementary school students.The Youth Symphony also sponsors the Youth String Ensemble for string players who are not ready to play the full orchestral repertoire of the symphony. It also sponsors Prelude Strings for 4th-grade and older students who play violin, viola or bass. The two ensembles play an annual concert.
Volunteers for Symphony
In 1936 the Junior Board was begun to sponsor fundraising projects for the symphony. In 1957 the Tri-City Symphony Auxiliary was formed as another support for it. The group was renamed the Guild of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra after the change of names.Both organizations merged to form Volunteers for Symphony in 1996. They organize fundraisers such as the Derby Day Party in May and the Second Fiddle Sale in June to support the symphony’s music education programs. These programs are provided at no cost to students or schools.
Music Directors
- 1916-1933: Ludwig Becker
- 1933-1936: Frank Kendrie
- 1936-1937: Frank Laird Waller
- 1938-1949: Oscar Anderson
- 1949-1954: Harry John Brown
- 1954-1956: Piero BellugiPiero BellugiPiero Bellugi is an Italian conductor from Florence. He received a diploma in violin and viola from the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, and also studied composition there with Luigi Dallapiccola. He also studied at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and at the Universität...
- 1956-1965: Charles Gigante
- 1965- 1994: James Dixon
- 1995-1997: Kim Allen Kluge
- 1999-2007: Donald Schleicher
- 2008–present: Mark Russell Smith
Guest Artists
The following is an incomplete list of guest artists who have appeared with the QCSO:- Rose BamptonRose BamptonRose Bampton was a celebrated American opera singer who had an active international career during the 1930s and 1940s. She began her professional career performing mostly minor roles from the mezzo-soprano repertoire in 1929 but later switched to singing primarily leading soprano roles in 1937...
- Leon Bates
- Louie BellsonLouie BellsonLuigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
- Suzy BoggussSuzy BoggussSusan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.After...
- Robert CasadesusRobert CasadesusRobert Casadesus was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a famous musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, husband of Gaby Casadesus, and father of Jean Casadesus.-Biography:Robert Casadesus was born in Paris...
- Rudolf FirkusnyRudolf Firkusny- Life :Born in Moravian Napajedla, Firkušný started his musical studies with the composers Leoš Janáček and Josef Suk, and the pianist Vilém Kurz. Later he studied with Alfred Cortot and Artur Schnabel. He began performing on the continent of Europe in the 1920s, and made his debuts in London in...
- Benny GoodmanBenny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
- Midori GotōMidori Gotois a Japanese American violinist. She made her debut at the age of 11 in a last-minute change of programming during a concert highlighting young performers by the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. When she was 21, she formed the philanthropic group Midori and Friends to help bring music to...
- Jascha HeifetzJascha HeifetzJascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
- Marilyn HorneMarilyn HorneMarilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
- Jennifer KohJennifer KohJennifer Koh is an American violinist, born to Korean parents in Glen Ellyn, IL.Jennifer Koh earned a B.A. in English Literature from Oberlin College, as well as a Performance Diploma from the attached Oberlin Conservatory. She is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute and was silver medalist in...
- Mario LanzaMario Lanzaright|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
- Robert MerrillRobert MerrillRobert Merrill was an American operatic baritone.-Early life:Merrill was born Moishe Miller, later known as Morris Miller, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, to tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife Lillian, née Balaban, immigrants from Warsaw, Poland.His mother...
- Sherrill MilnesSherrill MilnesSherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
- Nathan MilsteinNathan MilsteinNathan Mironovich Milstein was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist.Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for works from the Romantic period...
- James MorrisonJames Morrison (musician)James Morrison AM is an Australian jazz musician who plays numerous instruments, but is best known for his trumpet playing...
- Itzhak PerlmanItzhak PerlmanItzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
- Roberta PetersRoberta PetersRoberta Peters is an American coloratura soprano.One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York...
- Philippe QuintPhilippe Quint-Biography:Quint, whose surname is of Italian origin, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He studied at Moscow's Special Music School for the Gifted with Russian violinist Andrei Korsakov and made his orchestral debut at the age of nine. After emigrating to the United States in 1991, he earned both...
- Lalo SchifrinLalo SchifrinLalo Schifrin is an Argentine composer, pianist and conductor. He is best known for his film and TV scores, such as the "Theme from Mission: Impossible". He has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations...
- Richard TuckerRichard TuckerRichard Tucker was an American operatic tenor.-Early life:Tucker was born Rivn Ticker in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of Romanian immigrants from Bessarabia. His father, Shmul Ticker, and mother Fanya-Tsipa Ticker had already adopted the surname "Tucker" by the time their son entered first...
- Andre WattsAndré WattsAndré Watts is a classical pianist and professor at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University.-Life and early performances:...
Further reading
- Johnson, James M. The History of the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra of Davenport, Iowa, Rock island and Moline, Illinois. [s.l.: s.n.], 1976.
- McDonald, Donald. A History of the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra, Davenport, IA: Quad-City Symphony Orchestra Association, 1989.
- Svendsen, Marlys. Davenport: A Pictorial History, 1836-1986, Saint Louis, MO: G. Bradley Publishing, Inc, 1985.
External links
- The Quad City Symphony, official site