administration
Composer/arranger/conductor Gates Thomas has worked with and written for Pat Metheny, Paula Cole, Gary Burton, Jim Hall, the Lionel Hampton Big Band, Sadao Watanabe, Barry Carl, Choral Chameleon, the Iowa Jazz Composers Orchestra, and the New American Orchestra of Chicago. He joined the faculty of Boston's Berklee College of Music in 1992 and serves as Professor of Contemporary Writing and Production. Gates is a 2015-16 Fellow at the George Washington National Library at Mount Vernon, Virginia, where he undertook research toward the composition of musical settings of Washington’s Revolutionary War letters. What began as background work for a musical project led to a second career as a historian and lecturer on 20th century music, the American Revolution, the city of Davenport, and the recording arts. A native Davenporter, Gates Thomas was based in New York City for 25 years. In October 2020, with the music industry shuttered by the global pandemic, he and his partner Angel Matias returned permanently to Davenport, to be nearer to their families and to the sources and institutions supporting the study of Davenport history. Gates has served as music director at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of the Quad-Cities since 2022.
Gates Thomas
Director
Photo: Angel Matias
Hannah Holman
Founder and Artistic Adviser
Hannah Holman's love of Iowa goes back at least as far as 2001-02, when she first joined the Quad-City Symphony and took a teaching position at the University of Iowa. Over the years as she gained a local following and put down roots, a vision kept recurring in her mind — the Quad-Cities needed a home for high-quality music instruction, especially in stringed instruments. As the concept formed in her mind, she casually shared it with a few friends. Late in 2018, one of them called her back and said, "that dream you told me about — I think we've found the perfect place for it, and you should come take a look."
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The place, of course, was the former dean's residence of Trinity Cathedral. The building had been vacant for well over a decade and was being considered for demolition. Holman, however, immediately saw the potential to save the building and further her dream of a dedicated program of string instruction. She formed the organization, assembled a board of directors, secured funding, and guided the infant organization through the building renovation and startup process. Now entering its third year of service to the community, The Deanery School of Music is a tribute to her determination and audacity.​
Photo: Sue Paul
December 2020: Having just signed the lease and accepted the keys to the former dean's residence of Davenport's historic Trinity Cathedral, Hannah Holman crosses its threshold for the first time. An extensive renovation and conversion followed; The Deanery School of Music opened its doors in January 2022.