Artaria String Quartet e-newsletter


- ASQ Home - Forward to a friend - Send us a comment	e-newsletter \| Summer 2006
Spring Recap Summer Slowdown Artaria performances ACMS stuff SPSQC Stringwood 2006 Winterstrings in July Shop Talk Previous Issues Summer 2005 Fall 2005 Winter 2005 Spring 2006	Nicholas Wilton "Blossoms"
SPRING Recap-itulation Realizing we are well into the throes of Summer, I must report that Artaria had a very active springtime culminating in some really satisfying performances of the Seven Last Words of Christ by Joseph Haydn (one to dedicate an organ project in Wisconsin) and two superb chamber works by Mozart -- the E-flat Piano quartet and the Piano Concerto in A major. Chamber works? The concerto is usually associated with the genre of orchestra and its use of larger forces (i.e. winds, brass and percussion). Our good man Mozart decided in the late 1780’s to combine the two worlds on his second tour of Europe by arranging four of his newest concertos for piano and string quartet (!). In this way, Mozart was able to showcase his latest piano masterpieces in the intimate confines of pure chamber music for the royal families of Europe. As we all know, in a normal concerto setting the strings accompany the pianist while embellishing the solo lines and enhancing the musical fabric. In this clever reduction by Mozart, the solo qualities of each individual line come to the fore allowing a meaningful and more equal integration with the piano line. Our collaborator was the excellent and seasoned pianist from New York, Jeffrey Siegel. We performed the two Mozart works with him for his 20th anniversary celebration at Sundin Hall to an enthusiastic crowd. Needless to say, Jeffrey is a consummate musician with a strong vision about his performances -- which is usually a solo affair. Sharing the stage on his Keyboard Conversations series offered a new experience for him. The effect was pleasant and edifying for all of us, and Jeffrey is delighted to join us on our series at Sundin in the 2007-08 Season. Dates for the 2006-2007 Sundin Music Hall series are October 22, January 28, and April 15. All concerts will begin Sunday afternoon at 4:00pm. Pre-concert performances will be given by the young artists of the Artaria Chamber Music School at 3:30pm. For tickets, contact the Sundin Hall Box Office at 651-523-2459. SUMMER slowdown? There has to be a time of year when a person can just sit back and ‘let go’. Summer, I guess, is not that time. When I first looked at my May and June schedule, there were promising gaps and opportunities to tackle this project and that – things that really needed attending to (this newsletter for one!). Somehow or other, those gaps disappeared and, voila, I am still working. Artaria was not particularly busy as a performing unit, but the individual parts made up for it. We kept up our regular rehearsal schedule (slightly rearranged) while attending to personal matters etc....took extra freelance work (never can have too much cash around the house when kids are involved), and also put some of the business affairs in order. I look forward to the next gap in my schedule in 2009 to get in a few extra projects I have been dreaming about. RS ARTARIA Upcoming Performances: June 18 - Stringwood 2006. ASQ concert at 3:00pm at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro, MN. Sponsored by SEMAC. Directions are at www.eagle-bluff.com. July 20 - Minnesota Valley Sommerfest @ GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 7:30pm in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. Program entitled "Schumann and his Circle" will include the Schumann Piano Quintet and the Mendelssohn E-minor quartet. We will also redux the Janacek Quartet "Kreutzer Sonata". Contact the Gustavus Fine Arts Department for ticket information (507) 933-7363 ACMS is off for the summer as most of our members head to their summer music experiences. Included are some of the most prestigious programs in the country and our students will no doubt spread the word about the great program we all have here in the Twin Cities. A wrap-up of the '05-'06 season includes the ACMS Spring Concert which took place on April 23rd at the historical St. Clements’s Episcopal Church in St Paul. Our young artist quartets gave an impressive public concert, capping off a year of extraordinary music-making by these talented and dedicated musicians. Earlier, two of our quartets, the Lexington (Myra Hinrichs, Lauren Anastos, Caitlyn and Adrianne Ngam) and Mir (Sarah Goldfeather, Evan Vicic, Ryan Vold, Thomas Shaw) quartets performed for the Ballet Arts Minnesota Springboard event which was held at the Southern Theatre to very warm and enthusiastic audiences. Next season looks challenging and rewarding. We have arranged for the internationally renowned Pacifica Quartet to give a masterclass for our students on March 3rd, 2007 (details TBA). We are hoping to entice the St. Lawrence SQ as well, if they can adjust their schedule a bit...(keep your fingers crossed). Ballet Arts Minnesota really enjoyed our collaboration in March and will announce next year's event with us soon. Look for details in the Fall e-newsletter. The most recent news is that Susan Mallison (Meredith Vaughan's mom) has planned a Twins baseball event for the Fall for all of us in the ACMS... The Twins Game is Friday, Sept. 8 at 7:10pm vs. Detroit Tigers The Artaria Chamber Music School is on to play the national anthem. They want everyone there at 6:00pm to get things in order to go out on the field. There will be a room to lock up instruments after they play, and they will have chairs for the cellists! The tickets will be $15 (regularly $18) with any extra earnings going to the ACMS scholarship fund. The Twins want one check, so individual checks should be made out to ACMS. Of course, the Twins would like for every kid to bring several friends/family members! I have reserved 130 tickets, but we are not responsible for all of those. They will be in touch with me about 1-2 weeks in advance to get a "real" number. Everyone needs a ticket, including the kids that are playing. Individuals can also purchase concessions coupons (this is not necessary, but is a slight savings, and if families need to come straight from work/school, they will probably be eating at the dome) There are two options: Concessions Coupons: $3.50 per coupon which is redeemable for a regular hot dog and soft drink at the concession stand, Or Dome Dollars: $8.00 per pack. Each pack consists of $10 in vouchers (2--$5 coupons) good for any Metrodome food or beverage. I think that is it! It should be a hoot. I think it would be great if kids all wore t-shirts or something? Maybe that is too much to organize!! I hope that Stringwood is its usual smashing success!! Let me know if you have other questions. Susan The *Saint Paul String Quartet Competition* was a tremendous success on many levels. The quality of preparation by each of the ensembles was outstanding and the audience and judges were blown away by how well everyone performed. The winning quartet from Madison/Chicago area was the Alethea String Quartet. They performed selected movements from Brahms and Bartok in memorable fashion bringing the audience to their feet with great applause. Their years of study together at the Aspen Summer Music Festival school combined with superb coaching by Gene Purdue in Madison WI resulted in a masterful performance. The Amici Quartet from the Chicago area took second prize and third prize went to our own LNKS Quartet (Lizzie Whipple, Nora Ali, Kate Leger, Scott Ness) of Minneapolis/Albert Lea/Plymouth/ Mendota Heights. The String Theory Quartet players (Meredith Vaughan, Vince Lonergan, Carly Blazing, Nathaniel Swanson), also from ACMS, won the hearts (and pocketbooks?) of the attending audience and garnered the coveted Audience Prize -- bravo tutti! All of the groups from the Artaria Chamber Music School who entered the competition played exceptionally well and my biggest regret is that there were only six prizes to award this year. Kudos to all of you for your dedication, seriousness of purpose, and mature attitude through the whole process. Next year's competition is scheduled for April 22, 2007, same time and location. The jury will be announced in the Fall e-newsletter. Final preparations for Stringwood are now underway for its seventh season at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Eight terrific young ensembles will be participating this summer in an extended adventure of chamber music and memorable outdoor activities. Ranging in age from 11 to 18, participants will have the opportunity to give public performances at the Dinner on the Bluff series, the Inn of the Sacred Clay, the First Methodist Church in Lanesboro and on public radio. In addition to the outstanding outdoor activities led by a highly qualified Eagle Bluff staff, students will also be honing their paddle skills at the newly created Stringwood ping-pong tournament. For performance dates times go to www.stringwood.com and click on "schedule". A whole new way to legally enjoy chamber music has been created in St. Paul. *Winterstrings in July 2006 (WIJ)* was created by the members of the Artaria String Quartet in response to yearly requests for a summer retreat by adult chamber music participants who attend Winterstrings, our 3-day retreat held annually in January at the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in southeast Minnesota and founded in 2001 by the ASQ. For our summer extension of that program, the historical Episcopal Church of St John the Evangelist on Summit Hill in St Paul MN has been reserved from July 21-23. The initial event of a projected annual summer retreat, WIJ will feature in-depth coachings, a masterclass, an open rehearsal by the Artaria String Quartet, an Alexander Technique seminar, and a participant performance at Cornelia House, an assisted living residence affiliated with Episcopal Church of St John the Evangelist. There will also be a yoga class, a dinner out-on-the-town, a potluck picnic, and a sight-reading soiree. Participants will meet, perform, and exchange ideas with other musicians who love to play chamber music, and they will have an opportunity to work in-depth on a chosen chamber work, sight-read pieces from their wish list, and perform for an under served elderly audience. If you wish to join us at their free performance, join us at the Cornelia House at 2:00 pm Sunday, July 23rd. The address is 490 East Lynnhurst Avenue in St Paul. Shop Talk Guest Column on ice this month Feedback We try to place interesting articles in this newsletter for you to think about, so please let me know if there are topics you want to see discussed, questions answered, and the like. ~ RS Contact us. Thank you for your present interest and past support of the Artaria String Quartet. If you would rather not receive our newsletter, send an e-mail to music@artariaquartet.com and type "no newsletter please " in the subject line.

e-newsletter | Summer 2006

Spring Recap

Winterstrings in July

Shop Talk

Previous Issues
Summer 2005
Fall 2005
Winter 2005
Spring 2006

Nicholas Wilton "Blossoms"

SPRING Recap-itulation

Realizing we are well into the throes of Summer, I must report that Artaria had a very active springtime culminating in some really satisfying performances of the Seven Last Words of Christ by Joseph Haydn (one to dedicate an organ project in Wisconsin) and two superb chamber works by Mozart -- the E-flat Piano quartet and the Piano Concerto in A major.

Chamber works? The concerto is usually associated with the genre of orchestra and its use of larger forces (i.e. winds, brass and percussion). Our good man Mozart decided in the late 1780’s to combine the two worlds on his second tour of Europe by arranging four of his newest concertos for piano and string quartet (!). In this way, Mozart was able to showcase his latest piano masterpieces in the intimate confines of pure chamber music for the royal families of Europe.

As we all know, in a normal concerto setting the strings accompany the pianist while embellishing the solo lines and enhancing the musical fabric. In this clever reduction by Mozart, the solo qualities of each individual line come to the fore allowing a meaningful and more equal integration with the piano line.

Our collaborator was the excellent and seasoned pianist from New York, Jeffrey Siegel. We performed the two Mozart works with him for his 20th anniversary celebration at Sundin Hall to an enthusiastic crowd. Needless to say, Jeffrey is a consummate musician with a strong vision about his performances -- which is usually a solo affair.

Sharing the stage on his Keyboard Conversations series offered a new experience for him. The effect was pleasant and edifying for all of us, and Jeffrey is delighted to join us on our series at Sundin in the 2007-08 Season.

Dates for the 2006-2007 Sundin Music Hall series are October 22, January 28, and April 15. All concerts will begin Sunday afternoon at 4:00pm. Pre-concert performances will be given by the young artists of the Artaria Chamber Music School at 3:30pm.

For tickets, contact the Sundin Hall Box Office at 651-523-2459.

SUMMER slowdown?

There has to be a time of year when a person can just sit back and ‘let go’. Summer, I guess, is not that time. When I first looked at my May and June schedule, there were promising gaps and opportunities to tackle this project and that – things that really needed attending to (this newsletter for one!). Somehow or other, those gaps disappeared and, voila, I am still working.

Artaria was not particularly busy as a performing unit, but the individual parts made up for it. We kept up our regular rehearsal schedule (slightly rearranged) while attending to personal matters etc....took extra freelance work (never can have too much cash around the house when kids are involved), and also put some of the business affairs in order.

I look forward to the next gap in my schedule in 2009 to get in a few extra projects I have been dreaming about. RS

ARTARIA Upcoming Performances:

June 18 - Stringwood 2006. ASQ concert at 3:00pm at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro, MN. Sponsored by SEMAC. Directions are at www.eagle-bluff.com.

July 20 - Minnesota Valley Sommerfest @ GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 7:30pm in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. Program entitled "Schumann and his Circle" will include the Schumann Piano Quintet and the Mendelssohn E-minor quartet. We will also redux the Janacek Quartet "Kreutzer Sonata". Contact the Gustavus Fine Arts Department for ticket information (507) 933-7363

ACMS is off for the summer as most of our members head to their summer music experiences. Included are some of the most prestigious programs in the country and our students will no doubt spread the word about the great program we all have here in the Twin Cities.

A wrap-up of the '05-'06 season includes the ACMS Spring Concert which took place on April 23rd at the historical St. Clements’s Episcopal Church in St Paul. Our young artist quartets gave an impressive public concert, capping off a year of extraordinary music-making by these talented and dedicated musicians. Earlier, two of our quartets, the Lexington (Myra Hinrichs, Lauren Anastos, Caitlyn and Adrianne Ngam) and Mir (Sarah Goldfeather, Evan Vicic, Ryan Vold, Thomas Shaw) quartets performed for the Ballet Arts Minnesota Springboard event which was held at the Southern Theatre to very warm and enthusiastic audiences.

Next season looks challenging and rewarding. We have arranged for the internationally renowned Pacifica Quartet to give a masterclass for our students on March 3rd, 2007 (details TBA). We are hoping to entice the St. Lawrence SQ as well, if they can adjust their schedule a bit...(keep your fingers crossed).

Ballet Arts Minnesota really enjoyed our collaboration in March and will announce next year's event with us soon. Look for details in the Fall e-newsletter.

The most recent news is that Susan Mallison (Meredith Vaughan's mom) has planned a Twins baseball event for the Fall for all of us in the ACMS...

The Twins Game is Friday, Sept. 8 at 7:10pm vs. Detroit Tigers The Artaria Chamber Music School is on to play the national anthem. They want everyone there at 6:00pm to get things in order to go out on the field. There will be a room to lock up instruments after they play, and they will have chairs for the cellists!

The tickets will be $15 (regularly $18) with any extra earnings going to the ACMS scholarship fund. The Twins want one check, so individual checks should be made out to ACMS. Of course, the Twins would like for every kid to bring several friends/family members!

I have reserved 130 tickets, but we are not responsible for all of those. They will be in touch with me about 1-2 weeks in advance to get a "real" number. Everyone needs a ticket, including the kids that are playing.

Individuals can also purchase concessions coupons (this is not necessary, but is a slight savings, and if families need to come straight from work/school, they will probably be eating at the dome)

There are two options:

Concessions Coupons: $3.50 per coupon which is redeemable for a regular hot dog and soft drink at the concession stand,

Or

Dome Dollars: $8.00 per pack. Each pack consists of $10 in vouchers (2--$5 coupons) good for any Metrodome food or beverage.

I think that is it! It should be a hoot. I think it would be great if kids all wore t-shirts or something? Maybe that is too much to organize!!

I hope that Stringwood is its usual smashing success!!

Let me know if you have other questions.

Susan

The Saint Paul String Quartet Competition was a tremendous success on many levels. The quality of preparation by each of the ensembles was outstanding and the audience and judges were blown away by how well everyone performed.

The winning quartet from Madison/Chicago area was the Alethea String Quartet. They performed selected movements from Brahms and Bartok in memorable fashion bringing the audience to their feet with great applause. Their years of study together at the Aspen Summer Music Festival school combined with superb coaching by Gene Purdue in Madison WI resulted in a masterful performance.

The Amici Quartet from the Chicago area took second prize and third prize went to our own LNKS Quartet (Lizzie Whipple, Nora Ali, Kate Leger, Scott Ness) of Minneapolis/Albert Lea/Plymouth/ Mendota Heights. The String Theory Quartet players (Meredith Vaughan, Vince Lonergan, Carly Blazing, Nathaniel Swanson), also from ACMS, won the hearts (and pocketbooks?) of the attending audience and garnered the coveted Audience Prize -- bravo tutti!

All of the groups from the Artaria Chamber Music School who entered the competition played exceptionally well and my biggest regret is that there were only six prizes to award this year. Kudos to all of you for your dedication, seriousness of purpose, and mature attitude through the whole process.

Next year's competition is scheduled for April 22, 2007, same time and location. The jury will be announced in the Fall e-newsletter.

Final preparations for Stringwood are now underway for its seventh season at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Eight terrific young ensembles will be participating this summer in an extended adventure of chamber music and memorable outdoor activities. Ranging in age from 11 to 18, participants will have the opportunity to give public performances at the Dinner on the Bluff series, the Inn of the Sacred Clay, the First Methodist Church in Lanesboro and on public radio. In addition to the outstanding outdoor activities led by a highly qualified Eagle Bluff staff, students will also be honing their paddle skills at the newly created Stringwood ping-pong tournament. For performance dates times go to www.stringwood.com and click on "schedule".

A whole new way to legally enjoy chamber music has been created in St. Paul. Winterstrings in July 2006 (WIJ) was created by the members of the Artaria String Quartet in response to yearly requests for a summer retreat by adult chamber music participants who attend Winterstrings, our 3-day retreat held annually in January at the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in southeast Minnesota and founded in 2001 by the ASQ. For our summer extension of that program, the historical Episcopal Church of St John the Evangelist on Summit Hill in St Paul MN has been reserved from July 21-23.

The initial event of a projected annual summer retreat, WIJ will feature in-depth coachings, a masterclass, an open rehearsal by the Artaria String Quartet, an Alexander Technique seminar, and a participant performance at Cornelia House, an assisted living residence affiliated with Episcopal Church of St John the Evangelist. There will also be a yoga class, a dinner out-on-the-town, a potluck picnic, and a sight-reading soiree. Participants will meet, perform, and exchange ideas with other musicians who love to play chamber music, and they will have an opportunity to work in-depth on a chosen chamber work, sight-read pieces from their wish list, and perform for an under served elderly audience.

If you wish to join us at their free performance, join us at the Cornelia House at 2:00 pm Sunday, July 23rd. The address is 490 East Lynnhurst Avenue in St Paul.

Shop Talk

Guest Column on ice this month

Feedback

We try to place interesting articles in this newsletter for you to think about, so please let me know if there are topics you want to see discussed, questions answered, and the like. ~ RS

Thank you for your present interest and past support of the Artaria String Quartet. If you would rather not receive our newsletter, send an e-mail to music@artariaquartet.com and type "no newsletter please " in the subject line.