Dubuque Arts Council

2827 Asbury Road

Dubuque, IA 52001

563-556-7748

Winter Jazz & Blues Festival

To help Dubuqueland residents chase away the "winter blahs" the Dubuque Arts Council created the Winter Jazz & Blues Festival held in early to mid-February annually. Top name jazz and blues acts have performed including John Pizzarelli, The Four Freshmen, Tierney Sutton, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans and many others.

This year the Winter Jazz & Blues will be a showcase of local favorites and talents that is sure to please.

Five key performances are planned to satisfy many musical tastes.

The Dubuque Arts Council has partnered with the National River Museum for the annual Ice Fest to present renowned Chicago Jazz and Blues singer Frieda Lee. Frieda is a favorite of local audiences through her many performances for the Arts Council Music in the Gardens at the Dubuque Arboretum and the Artists in Residence program and many dates at Duke’s Place, a former Dubuque jazz club. She’ll perform Saturday January 28th at 1pm with pianist Dick Sturman in the Journey Theater at the National River Museum as part of Ice Fest.

Admission is free with an Ice Fest museum pass.

That evening the intimate setting of the Palisades Room at Timmerman’s Supper Club will be the stage for an evening concert by Frieda Lee and Dick Sturman plus Dave Richter on bass. Enjoy a special menu dinner, cocktails, jazz and blues for just $30.00 per person.

Seating is limited so call 563-556-7748 for reservations.

The Winter Jazz and Blues Festival continues in February

with two more great concert venues:

“Jazz Classics at the Grand” features the music of local favorites in concert.

Hear the Paul Hemmer Trio, Larry Busch and the Dixieland All-Stars

and the Ken Kilian Saxtet on Friday February 10th at 7:00 pm. Music,

Appetizers and Desserts all for $20.00 per person at the Grand Opera House.

The final Winter Jazz and Blues Concert features the talent of local college and university musicians in an informal setting at the Mississippi River Museum. Jazz ensembles from Loras, Clarke, Univ. of Dubuque and UW-Platteville will perform from 7 to 10pm, admission is $10.00 per person.

Food and beverages are available for purchase plus games and great music.

Scholarship Application for 2012/13 Available Now

Eligibility

Eligible students are residents of a county in which the Dubuque Arts Council serves

(Dubuque, Jo Daviess, Jackson, Grant counties) and are enrolled at a college or university within the same counties.

These schools include Clarke University, Loras College, University of Dubuque, Divine Word College and Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque county; University of Wisconsin-Platteville in Grant county.

Eligible students have declared a major or minor within the area of visual or performing arts.

Scholarship

Two scholarships are available for the 2012-2013 school year in the amount of $1,000 each.

Payment will be made directly to the institution.

Completed applications must be received at the Dubuque Arts Council office by 5:00 p.m. on March 30, 2012.

Download the pdf application here:

scholarshipapp

Kipperton String Quartet

Kipperton String Quartet is known for its high energy and musical depth. The quartet consists of violinists Timothy Kamps and Wes Luke, violist Paul Alan Price-Brenner, and cellist Kevin Price-Brenner. The quartet first met in the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and quickly magnetized into the premiere string quartet of the tri-state area. In addition to the DSO, they also play in other orchestras such as the Madison Symphony and Quad City Symphony. Kipperton will perform residencies for The Dubuque Arts Council in tri-state area schools March 19 -23. Your support of the Dubuque Arts Council Annual Campaign makes events like this possible for tri-state children.

Here's Kipperton performing January 12, 2012 at St. Columbkille's School to an attentive and appreciative audience

Dubuque Arts Council History

The Dubuque Arts Council was founded in 1969 by a dedicated group of individuals whose mission was to bring oustanding performers from many artistic disciplines to perform in Dubuque Schools to provide inspiration for young people as they experience professionals they normally wouldn't see.

Since then the program has expanded to include 30 schools in the greater tri-state area. Artists are scheduled for three performances per day for 10 days, reaching approximately 5,000 students per artist.

How do we do it

The Dubuque Arts Council operates on voluntary contributions from many outstanding individuals, civic minded business leaders and corporations who believe in our mission of "Educating and Entertaining." We receive an operational support grant from the City of Dubuque Arts & Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission that helps defray our office expenses. We have also received grants from the John Deere Foundation, Dubuque Racing Association-Mystique Casino, the Iowa Arts Council and bequests from several estates. More than 85% of money raised is used to pay for artists.

Music in the Gardens

In the 1980s when the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens constructed the Packard Pavilion as a venue for outdoor concert events the Dubuque Arts Council began sponsoring and scheduling a regular series of summer evening events held on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm. For seven weeks from mid-June to late July thousands of tri-state residents gather on the lawn in front of the pavilion to enjoy a wide variety of popular musical attractions ranging from swing to country, jazz to blues and everything in between. Local, regional and national acts have played the Arboretum. Admission is free but free will offerings are taken to help support the mission of the Dubuque Arts Council.

When Bob Welch performed his Civil War program for tri-state area schools in October he offered to donate a new guitar to a student at a participating school for the best essay describing their experience at the school concert. 13 schools selected a student review for judging by the Dubuque Arts Council. The winning entry came from Nate Reiff, a 2nd grade student at Southwestern Elementary School. Dubuque Arts Council President Jim Sherry and Office Manager Jan Hemmer presented the instrument to Nate Monday December 19th in the schools multi-purpose room with the entire 2nd grade, Nate's parents, music teacher, David Iserman and school principal present for the ceremony.

Established in 1997, the JUNO nominated Orchid Ensemble is Lan Tung (Taiwan/Canada) on the erhu/Chinese violin, Yu-Chen Wang (Taiwan/US) on the zheng/Chinese zither, and Jonathan Bernard (Canada) on percussion. The ensemble blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and beyond, creating a beautiful new sound. The ensemble has embraced a variety of musical styles to its repertoire, ranging from the traditional and contemporary music of China, World Music, New Music to Jazz and Creative Improvisation. Acclaimed as ‘One of the brightest blossoms on the world music scene’ (Georgia Straight), the Orchid Ensemble has been tirelessly developing an innovative musical genre based on the cultural exchange between Western and Asian musicians. They will perform a one week residency for tri-state schools the week of April 9-13.

IThis October in cooperation of Conlon Construction Company we were proud to present world class piano virtuoso Thomas Pandolfi in concert performing an evening George Gershwin classics. His performance was received with a spontaneous standing ovation.


Ted Blanchard	Cassidy Bock	Crenna Brumwell	Mike Coyle	Danielle Day	John Dunkel	Katie Flynn

Hunter Fuerste	Dave Grable	Harriet Heitzman	Paul Hemmer	Peg Jones	Bruce Kotowich	Jeanne Kramer

Steve Meyer	Barry Nudd	Linda Nudd	Cindy Pearce	Al Schockemoehl	Jim Sherry	Gina Siegert

Judy Simon	Becky Smith	Dick Sturman	Beth Triplett	Lynn Wacker	Dennis Williams	Paula Wolfe