Brief History of the Quincy Civic Music Association

    The Quincy Civic Music Association (QCMA) was organized in 1927, with the purpose of presenting seasons of four to six concerts by professional musicians and dancers.  It is the oldest existing cultural organization in Quincy devoted to professional entertainment.  It was a founding member of the Quincy Society of Fine Arts when it began in 1947 as the very first community arts council in the US.
 
    The QCMA is an all-volunteer organization whose non-profit status enables it to qualify for numerous grants and gifts. As a result, it has been able, despite its modest ticket prices and Quincy’s modest size, to bring some of the world’s best musicians to the city.  The 25-year-old Isaac Stern performed during the 1945-1946 season.  There is reliable verbal testimony that the great pianist and composer Rachmaninov earlier played for QCMA members.  The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Joffrey Ballet were brought to Quincy by the QCMA.  Within the past 30 years the QCMA has brought here the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (3 times), as well as the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Kurt Masur.  Other world-class ensembles on recent seasons are Chanticleer and the Kronos Quartet.  The 2005-2006 season will bring back to Quincy a favorite ensemble from the recent past, the Vienna Choir Boys.  And those who braved a late winter storm in March of 2001 to hear the young Miró Quartet would not be surprised to see them soon recognized as one of the world’s best.

Due to Quincy’s tradition of excellent music education, we have also been able to present outstanding Quincy natives, such as the operatic soprano Michelle Crider and the violist of the Kronos Quartet, Hank Dutt.

But with so many skilled musicians being trained, provincial orchestras and Illinois musicians may be just as enjoyable; that is what we found with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra under Kenneth Kiesler and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra under Jaap Van Zweden, for example.

In its early years QCMA sold only a subscription series, and non-members were never admitted to concerts.  This policy has been relaxed over the years, and today single admission tickets are available for each concert in advance and at the door. But this change of policy has some drawbacks; as it becomes more and more difficult to catch the attention of potential ticket purchasers, having to do so five times a year instead of once is a problem.