Tuesday, August 16, 2011

How do you spell Chautauqua?


After being invited to perform at the Chautauqua Institution in June (as part of the Monday afternoon Logan Chamber Music Series), it took some of the quartet several months to finally figure out how to actually spell Chautauqua. Perhaps it was due revenge when the prelude article to our performance in the Chautauquan Daily accidentally ran a picture of former cellist Hannah Addario-Berry in the article. (Obviously, they must have mistaken the red-hair!)

After 16 hours of travel - by various motorized vehicles and several different planes - we arrived in the serene Chautauqua the night before our performance. After resting a little - and sound checking a lot - we got ready to perform at 4p.m. with Gabriela Lena Frank's Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout, Ronald Bruce Smith's Quartet No. 3, Chinary Ung's Spiral X, and Reza Vali's Nayshaboorák.

sound checking for Ung & Smith
The concert was well-received, although it seemed that this music was quite novel to many of the audience members. We were so grateful to have 2 of our composers with us - Ronald Bruce Smith and Reza Vali!

Ron in the hall sound-checking

We were graced in the audience with the presence of the newest member of the Cleveland Symphony, Katherine Bormann, who brought us many well wishes.


All in all, it was a great trip. Charlton got to rekindle fond memories from his summer spent in Chautauqua 20 years previous and show everyone around to the old haunts. Then it was back to San Francisco for Quartetfest Session 2!