Quincy Symphony Orchestra to present ‘Secrets of the Rhine’ Saturday at Morrison Theater

QUINCY — The Quincy Symphony Orchestra, directed by Bruce Briney, will offer its second concert of 76th season with “Secrets of the Rhine” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 in Quincy Junior High School’s Morrison Theater.

QSO principal trumpet Aren Van Houzen is the featured soloist on Alexander Arutiunian’s “Concerto for Trumpet.” Van Houzen is an educator and freelance performer throughout eastern Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.  He is principal trumpet of the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and second trumpet of Orchestra Iowa.

Van House is an assistant professor of music at Culver-Stockton College, teaching applied brass lessons, jazz studies and other courses. He began soloing at age 17 with a performance of Haydn’s trumpet concerto with the Holland Youth Symphony and has continued to be featured at several Midwest performing organizations.

The QSO has performed three of Johannes Brahms’ four masterful symphonies during Briney’s tenure as music director. The group completes the cycle with the triumphant “Symphony No. 3.” At a time when many composers and performers adopted personal mottos, Brahms chose “Frei aber froh” (Free but happy) and used the www.qsoa.org pitches of its initials — F-A-F — as the motif for his Symphony No. 3.

The concert opens with the overture from the mysterious tale of “Russlan and Ludmilla” by Mikhail Glinka.

Single tickets will be available throughout the season at the door or in advance from Quincy HyVee stores, Sturhahn Jewelers and the QSOA website. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for seniors. Thanks to support from the Community Foundation and the Tracy Family Foundation, children 18 and under are admitted free to all concerts and are encouraged to attend.

“Secrets of the Rhine” is sponsored by Quincy Recycle. The Arthur and Lela Lindsay family is the guest artist sponsor, and Winters LLP is the music sponsor. The 2023-24 season sponsors are Blessing Hospital and The Knapheide Manufacturing Company.

Program notes and soloist biographies are available at www.qsoa.org.