Graduate students have power of four
The number four is important in all aspects of music. Four beats in a measure, four movements in a symphony and four performers in a quartet.
From the CSU School of the Arts, the Graduate String Quartet will perform tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Organ Recital Hall at the University Center for the Arts. Â Â
The four graduate students performing are Allen Orginz, violin; Karmen Mitchell, violin; Sabrina Romney, viola; and Chris Stuberg, cello. Â
These four students are in the music masters of fine arts program at CSU with intentions of professional performance or being involved in music therapy after graduation. Â
The music selections for the evening are “Quartet No. 8, Op. 110,†by Dmitri Shostakovich, “Quartet in Eb, Op. 33, No. 2,†by Joseph Haydn and “Quartet in F minor, Op. 95,†by Ludwig Van Beethoven.
Having only four performers presents challenges that are not experienced in a full orchestra, according to Graduate String Quartet Coordinator Margaret Miller.
“In some ways, it’s harder to be in a string quartet because occasionally a composer will ask four people to sound like a full string orchestra,†Miller said. “Chamber music is much more intimate, and often composers would use this genre for their most personal feelings.â€
Unlike in a full orchestra, the performers do not have a conductor present and must keep tempo themselves.
Violinist Karmen Mitchell, a second year MFA student studying music therapy, expresses the “high amount of responsibility†each quartet member has to each other and to the overall piece of music.
“We all breathe as a unit,†Mitchell said. “It is important for us to all move with the music so that we can cue each other for different parts.â€
Violist Sabrina Romney, a first year graduate student focusing on performance, said the biggest challenge was the intimacy that each member of a quartet has.
“If you can’t work closely with other people, or if your personalities clash, it is a problem,†Romney said.
Following the performance there will be a “Meet the Artist†reception.
Tickets cost $7 for CSU students, $12 for adults and $1 for youth ages 2 to 17. Â Tickets can be purchased at the UCA ticket office in the Griffin Lobby, by phone at 970-491-2787 or online at www.csuartstickets.com.
Staff writer Lianna Salva can be reached at verve@collegian.com.
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