A New ‘Carnegie Hall’ Shines in Moline
by Jonathan Turner
Most musicians dream of playing Carnegie Hall in New York City, the most famous concert venue in the world.
I had the absolute thrill of performing on a Baldwin grand piano in a mini-Carnegie Hall on Saturday, Sept. 28, as part of the second Gershwin Birthday Celebration at Sound Conservatory, 504 17th St., Moline.
Owner/pianist Andrzej Kozłowski has done a spectacular job in transforming the old two-floor space (in the former 1903 Carnegie library) into a sumptuous, glittering performance venue, with a dazzling chandelier hanging from the 24-foot ceiling.
The wonderful program – first done Sept. 14, honoring the American composer/genius George Gershwin (1898-1937)—naturally focused on piano. Alex Gilson gave a thundering, bewitching performance of the Three Preludes, plus a jaw-dropping stride piano version of “I Got Rhythm.” The outstanding Corey Kendrick Trio unspooled a greatest hits of selected Gershwin songs, and each of the players revealed gorgeous solos, sensitivity and grace.
Kozlowski took on the gargantuan task of performing the iconic “Rhapsody in Blue” (marking its 100th anniversary this year, penned in just two weeks by a 25-year-old George) all by himself. I always knew Andrzej was a commanding performer, but he really outdid himself in taking on the tremendous technical challenges of the Rhapsody—it justly earned an immediate standing ovation at both performances.
Sound Conservatory – a two-and-a-half-year old music store and school – started in downtown Rock Island, and moved to the long vacant former Moline Public Library in fall 2023. In addition to selling and renting pianos, it offers band/orchestra instruments; instrument repair and maintenance, and piano moving and storage. The school has grown to 360 students.
Kozlowski removed the old library stacks and opened the new performance space in early August 2024. In 2025, he hopes to offer events 50 weeks of the year.
The scheduled shows the rest of this year are:
- Friday, Oct. 25 – Knock, Knock! Who’s There Comedy at the Carnegie
- Saturday, Nov. 2 – Linscheid/Kendrick Quartet
- Sunday, Nov. 10 – ATLYS Quartet
- Saturday, Nov. 23 – David Casas: An Evening of Magic and Wonder
- Sunday, Dec. 1 – Christmas With the Laurence Hobgood Trio
Sound Conservatory also has brought pop-up casual concerts throughout downtown Moline in its “Keys of Unity” program. It’s donated upright pianos at selected businesses (typically for a month or two at a time), allowing anyone to play them and has scheduled professionals to give free concerts.
The next one is Oscar Stricklin, Jr. playing timeless melodies of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Crepe Corner at Le Mekong, 1600 5th Ave. That has a piano painted by Regan Hatfield.
Kozlowski also commissioned artist Miranda Vavrosky to create a wildly colorful upright this past month at Art on the Bend, East Moline. It will be displayed this month at Sound Conservatory, and then moved to Atlas Collective, 1801 5th Ave., Moline.
For more information, visit SoundConservatory.com.
Jonathan Turner is a veteran journalist and piano player, who has made the QC home since 1995 and loves writing about arts and culture. He is the author of the books “A Brief History of Bucktown: Davenport's Infamous District Transformed,” and “100 Things To Do in the Quad Cities Before You Die”.