After its first concert in the Harmonic Diversions series, St. Ambrose University is bringing a string quartet with QC connections.
The inaugural show will be country singer-songwriter Skip Ewing on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Galvin Fine Arts Center, at 518 W. Locust St., Davenport.
The next one will be ATLYS on Oct. 14, 2023 at Galvin’s Allaert Auditorium, with special guest appearance by SAU piano professor Marian Lee. ATLYS is a classically trained, crossover string quartet comprised of four women — Jinty McTavish, violin; Rita Andrade, viola; Genevieve Tabby, cello, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s own Sabrina Tabby, violin.
The ladies are lauded for their passionate and dynamic performances, signature sound, and their mesmerizing and interactive concert experiences, according to the orchestra’s website.
Their concerts are filled with melodies and tunes from all kinds of cultures and genres. Using the string quartet as their blank canvas, they veer outside of the classical music box and the traditional acoustic soundscape to develop imaginative covers of beloved music, according to a St. Ambrose release.
From representing New York City’s Lincoln Center to participating in international conventions like the Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Freedom Forum, ATLYS has charmed audiences in over 1,000 concerts around the world.
The October concert with Marian Lee will include the pianist on music from the video game “Zelda” and two Astor Piazzolla pieces (Oblivion & Spring).
ATLYS did a local show this past February, with the QCSO’s Up Close chamber music concert at the Raccoon Motel, Davenport. Last September, the quartet performed at Wallenberg Hall, Rock Island, in a program of music by Jewish composers. It was part of the community-wide “Out of Darkness: Holocaust Messages for Today” series.
SAU’s “Harmonic Diversions” is meant to offer a reprieve from the chaos of everyday life, “providing a sanctuary of serenity, rejuvenation and community,” the release says. “Discover the power of music as the Harmonic Diversions: Concert Series takes you on a soul-nourishing adventure beyond the confines of the mundane.”
Other concerts in the series will be:
- Feb. 23, 2024: Daniel Adam Maltz is a fortepianist based in Vienna, Austria. He is in demand worldwide with 50+ tour dates per year as a sought-after soloist, chamber musician, lieder accompanist, and clinician. He hosts Classical Cake, the podcast about Viennese classical music and culture. Maltz specializes in the works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. He performs on the Viennese fortepianos of their time. He studied historical performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna.
- April 14, 2024: Inspired by the wizardly jazz harmonies of TAKE 6 and The Hi-Lo’s, the six singers of ACCENT, all of them accomplished arrangers and instrumentalists in their own right, are taking their love of close-harmony jazz singing – the denser and more intricate the better. They have released 5 albums, performed at the London A Cappella Festival, played dates across Europe, North America and Asia, and were featured in two sold-out Christmas shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Their latest EP “Journeying” reflects a moment in time as the group explored new sounds, textures and production approaches during the lockdown of 2020.
Galvin Flex ticket packages (ranging from two events for $26 to seven for $100, the best deal) can be used for the Hamonic Diversions: Concert Series, An Ambrosian Christmas Concert and both SAU theater productions.
The first theater production is a funny musical, “title of show,” done this past July at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. It comes to Galvin Nov. 10, 11, 17, 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays, Nov. 12 and 19 at 3 p.m.
“title of show” is a musical about two nobodies named Hunter and Jeff who decide to write a completely original musical starring themselves and their attractive and talented lady friends, Susan and Heidi. Determined to write an original musical rather than adapt an existing play or movie, Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen discovered almost immediately that their conversations about what to write were more interesting than what they were actually writing, a synopsis says.
This led to them writing “title of show,” a comedic, one-act musical that allows each cast the opportunity to adapt it to their own personal story for a completely unique and hilarious experience.
After the Ambrosian Christmas on Dec. 9, the SAU spring show will be “Secret in the Wings,” next April in the Studio Theatre.
The classic play by Mary Zimmerman is a mash-up of fairy tales fused together into one solid story, the Ambrose releases says.
Zimmerman gets inspiration from a multitude of sources, especially from the works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. The play features a collection of intriguing and sometimes dark stories, creating a haunting and enchanting atmosphere. The themes explored in “Secret in the Wings” revolve around the darker aspects of fairy tales and the human experience.
It delves into the hidden fears, desires, and anxieties that are often present in the original tales. Zimmerman’s adaptation often swaps the traditional expectations of fairy tales and instead examines the complex and sometimes unsettling aspects beneath them.
For tickets, visit the SAU website HERE.
