Press Releases

February, 17 2010 - With a little help from our friends

What is the Quad City Symphony Orchestra to do when they perform repertoire calling for significantly more musicians or musicians of another type than they normally use? In their February performance of Carmina Burana – their most well attended classical concert in nearly seven years – the QCSO got help from their regular local partners in the Handel Oratorio Society and Quad City Choral Arts. For this upcoming performance of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, they are getting help from a more remote source: Minnesota.

In his Symphony No. 9, the three completed movements of which were published posthumously, Bruckner called for a larger than usual sound, requiring the QCSO to increase its normal compliment of string players. The piece also calls for an instrument rarely used in orchestral repertoire – the Wagner Tuba. “There are only so many sets of Wagner Tuben available for rent in the US,” explained QCSO Director of Orchestra Operations Rich Stodd. “These things are rare and rent for thousands of dollars.”

That was when the QCSO and Music Director Mark Russell Smith struck on the idea of working with students from the University of Minnesota. As is common with conductors, Smith will be conducting this same piece of music with the University of Minnesota Orchestra just a few weeks before the QCSO’s performance. The members of this string section will be rehearsed on the piece and familiar Smith’s conducting, so 16 of the University of Minnesota’s best string players are caravanning into town for the upcoming Masterworks concert.

The Wagner Tubas are another story: Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, wife of Mark Russell Smith, is a horn player with the Minnesota Orchestra who also plays the Wagner Tuba, a related instrument. So she and three other professional horn players are packing up their Tuben, traveling from the Twin Cities to the Quad Cities, and joining forces with the QCSO brass to complete this robust ensemble.

Don’t miss this awe-inspiring performance of Bruckner’s final symphony, paired with the immensely popular “Unfinished” Symphony by Franz Schubert, in the Adler Theatre on March 6 at 8 PM and again in Centennial Hall, Augustana College, on March 7 at 2 PM. Tickets range from $10 to $50 for Saturday night and from $18 to $30 for Sunday afternoon and can be purchased at www.qcsymphony.com, 800.745.3000, and at all Ticketmaster outlets.


	Press Release February, 17 2010 - With a little help from our friends What is the Quad City Symphony Orchestra to do when they perform repertoire calling for significantly more musicians or musicians of another type than they normally use? In their February performance of Carmina Burana – their most well attended classical concert in nearly seven years – the QCSO got help from their regular local partners in the Handel Oratorio Society and Quad City Choral Arts. For this upcoming performance of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, they are getting help from a more remote source: Minnesota. In his Symphony No. 9, the three completed movements of which were published posthumously, Bruckner called for a larger than usual sound, requiring the QCSO to increase its normal compliment of string players. The piece also calls for an instrument rarely used in orchestral repertoire – the Wagner Tuba. “There are only so many sets of Wagner Tuben available for rent in the US,” explained QCSO Director of Orchestra Operations Rich Stodd. “These things are rare and rent for thousands of dollars.” That was when the QCSO and Music Director Mark Russell Smith struck on the idea of working with students from the University of Minnesota. As is common with conductors, Smith will be conducting this same piece of music with the University of Minnesota Orchestra just a few weeks before the QCSO’s performance. The members of this string section will be rehearsed on the piece and familiar Smith’s conducting, so 16 of the University of Minnesota’s best string players are caravanning into town for the upcoming Masterworks concert. The Wagner Tubas are another story: Ellen Dinwiddie Smith, wife of Mark Russell Smith, is a horn player with the Minnesota Orchestra who also plays the Wagner Tuba, a related instrument. So she and three other professional horn players are packing up their Tuben, traveling from the Twin Cities to the Quad Cities, and joining forces with the QCSO brass to complete this robust ensemble. Don’t miss this awe-inspiring performance of Bruckner’s final symphony, paired with the immensely popular “Unfinished” Symphony by Franz Schubert, in the Adler Theatre on March 6 at 8 PM and again in Centennial Hall, Augustana College, on March 7 at 2 PM. Tickets range from $10 to $50 for Saturday night and from $18 to $30 for Sunday afternoon and can be purchased at www.qcsymphony.com, 800.745.3000, and at all Ticketmaster outlets.