Hamburg Area High School Outreach with Aeolus Quartet

Dear Angela,

On behalf of the Friends of Chamber Music of Reading (FOCM), I want to thank you and provide a recap of your hosting the Aeolus Quartet’s outreach presentation to your 30 middle and high school orchestra students who sat with rapt attention to the lively and upbeat presentation.

First violinist, Isabelle Durrenberger asked a question to the audience to gauge their knowledge of the art form of chamber music.  Music students including string players studying violin, viola, cello, bass and even guitar responded positively and became immediately engaged for what was to come.  She asked them to consider the question of what is unusual about this piece before she and her colleagues launched into the beginning movement of Quartet No. 3 by Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz, written shortly after the end of WWII and the beginning of the Space Age.  Rhythmic, driving sounds of a working machine were first brought to mind and the audience also described hearing “western and folk melody tunes”, aggressive and mysterious and even seductive sounding passages, and some reminiscence of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony!

Isabelle described her discovery of this piece on YouTube, becoming entranced by its momentum among other features and knew Aeolus should bring it to the public’s attention and added it to their varied repertoire. 

Second violinist, Rachel Shapiro posed a question regarding the difference between chamber music and orchestral music making to which the audience noticed each musician on stage playing its own part  so “therefore, complete accountability for the individual musician” Rachel exclaimed, indicating the required responsibility, attention and dedication to both music and colleagues in the ensemble.  Also noted was the absence of a conductor in a chamber music ensemble.

Momentum of a different type from the Bacewicz piece, velocity and rhythm were elements to listen for in a short excerpt from Mozart Quartet in D minor, Op. 10, No. 2, K. 421, eliciting comments of “lots of movement” while Ari Evan, the cellist commented on the witty fun Mozart always enjoyed, in this instance by changing the “emphasis” on simple rhythms in a clever noticeable way. When instructed to imagine scenes while listening to the theme and variations of the 4th movement, students described a “huge journey” and some heard “sounds of a fanfare”.

Returning to the III. Vivo movement of Bacewicz’s Quartet No. 3, with its momentum and velocity, violist Caitlin Lynch asked the audience to imagine as she would also do while performing ….. is this the motion of hang-gliding or driving a fast car?  Feelings the music conjured were “…like you’re on a roller coaster, or caught up in a chase of various sorts, or Quiddich swooping, both frantic, nimble and fleet”.  There were no wrong answers and all enjoyed hearing each other’s imaginative descriptions!  Speaking on the music’s varied moods, Caitlin alluded to the composer’s life experiencing WWII German occupied Warsaw and the horrors of WWII, to life in lively Paris, her life experiences inspiring her “travelogue” composition, the journey emotionally growing from chaos to joy.

Ample time was purposely allotted for a question and answer session, the questions both serious and hilarious – and all were entertained in every sense of the word!  Musicians eagerly responded to questions: “What other instruments do you play?” Isabelle – violin, piano; Rachel – “as of late, bass drum, triangle, finger cymbals, violin with two strings” heard in Aeolus’ recent performance of Steve Mackey’s composition, “Memoir”; Caitlin – piano, percussion, voice.  When asked, Ari decided his favorite animal was the dog, despite the meaning of his Hebrew name, lion.  Other music the musicians also enjoy include: Ari – jazz, funk, Snarky Puppy, Pink Floyd, Queen, classic rock, Eastern Asian music; Caitlin – jazz, rock and country, influenced by her cowboy father; Rachel – music of all kinds and unique performance opportunities with stars such as Billie Eilish, and not Taylor Swift who was a fellow student at Wyomissing HS; Isabelle – K-Pop, music from Coachella, the Beatles and various other genres.  Isabelle expressed her appreciation for the special opportunity to perform alongside her revered, illustrious violin teacher, Donald Weilerstein, guest artist on viola in tonight’s Aeolus Quartet performance at the WCR.    

An astute student volunteered her experience enjoying the musicians’ obvious camaraderie and listening to their performance as, “looking at emotion – watching facial expression and body language – just as if they  were talking”, a grand and accurate summary of the special, intimate quality of chamber music and a confirmation that the Aeolus Quartet had truly connected with their audience! 

Thank you again, Angela, for nurturing and encouraging fine, respectful music students in their studies and all your efforts to ensure a worthwhile outreach presentation at Hamburg Area High School!

Sincerely,

Ellen Kitagawa Shapiro, Outreach Committee member, FOCM