The lights dimmed as a door at the side of the stage opened. Five musicians moved out from backstage and stood around the music stands clustered in the middle of the stage. They bowed and took their seats.
From there, the Auer Concert Hall filled with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “String Quintet in G Minor.” The five musicians focused all their attention on their string instruments, and the audience silently waited for each note.
Members of the Cleveland Orchestra played alongside IU string faculty members during the Chamber Music for Strings, one of many residency events connected with the orchestra’s visit to IU.
Debbie Quinn, a retired community member, said she had a simple reason for attending the concert.
“A love of music brought me here,” Quinn said. “Especially Mozart. I was in a band for eight years, so I was exposed to a lot of music and I love to see professional musicians here. For a retired person, it’s like heaven. It’s unbelievable.”
Nicolette van den Bogerd, a Ph.D. in musicology, said she chose to attend the performance for an ethnomusicology-based study as part of a seminar class that involves a fieldwork component.
“I’m actually a violinist, and I feel it’s such an honor to be able to hear people of such caliber,” van den Bogerd said. “I’m looking forward to hearing the musicians and how good they are.
Quinn said she and her husband, an avid collector of vinyl records, attend many musical programs across a variety of genres.
“The level of expertise is unbelievable,” Quinn said.
The event recital featured Cleveland Orchestra concertmaster William Preucil, principal second violin Stephen Rose, principal viola Wes Collins and principal cello Mark Kosower.
IU string faculty playing this recital included Simin Ginatra, Ed Gazouleas and Eric Kim.
The first five performers selected Mozart’s Quintet and the second group of six played Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence” for the audience, made up of students and elderly community members.
The event was one of many residency-style programs, during which students and faculty have the opportunity to work with and learn from members of the Cleveland Orchestra in a variety of areas.
Yefim Bronfman, the world-famous pianist playing with the orchestra, will be leading a piano masterclass with IU piano students Wednesday. Later in the day there will be a Classical Revolution Jam Session at Uptown Café.
The full Cleveland Orchestra will perform 8 p.m. Thursday in the IU Auditorium Thursday, and leading up to that show will be events such as a lunch with conductor Franz Welser-Möst and conducting students. Students from Fairview Elementary School will also visit, and a variety of musicians will lead workshops for their instruments.
From the perspective of an ethnomusicologist, reviewing and studying a show with this type of music is a different experience from most, van den Bogerd said.
“This is Western music, and ethnomusicology is obviously not, so I’m trying to apply the methods of ethnomusicology to this concert,” van den Bogerd said. “This is a very interesting experience.”
