Kutter Quartet live for the music

Kevin Kunkel, Rena Kimura, Rose Wollman and Colin Sorgi have been distinguished as some of the best collegiate musicians at IU. They are members of the 2010-11 Kuttner Quartet, a group that changes annually to feature four of the top strings players in the Jacobs School of Music.

Though Sept. 26 marked the group’s formal debut performance, these four musicians had been playing together long before. Last semester, Kunkel, Kimura, Wollman and Sorgi formed a quartet in preparation for the audition process, or as they call it, competition.

Music is so engrained in each of these players’ minds that they said it was as though they had been practicing for a lifetime for the short audition.

Regardless of their different musical backgrounds, these four very different personalities come together to create something they all say is beautiful. 

“We each have different rehearsal and performance styles, but I think we bring out the best in each other,” Wollman says.

As members of the Kuttner Quartet, each player stated a sense of pride, recognition and responsibility to not only perform well, but also to represent the musical face of IU.
“We get to do what we love every day,” Sorgi said.

The Kuttner Quartet performs next on Dec. 4 in Auer Hall.

KEVIN KUNKEL

Kunkel, the group’s cellist, hails from Chicago. He said he was first drawn to his instrument because of the sound it makes.

“Its range corresponds with that of the human voice,” he said.

Kunkel admitted his affinity for the world of music, marking himself as a “classical music snob” who would rather plug in to Puccini’s Madama Butterfly than Lady Gaga.  

After getting his Bachelor’s and Performance degrees at IU, he said he hopes to move on to play in a professional orchestra.

RENA KIMURA

Music is more of a family matter for Kimura, who became fascinated with the violin after seeing an orchestra performance on TV. Her mom is a pianist, and her dad has been a long-time collector of all things related to classical music.
Kimura said the value of her music lies in her ability to communicate with the audience.

“Music has the ability to move you in such a deep and emotional way that touches the core of your being. Nothing else can really replicate or parallel that feeling.”
Kimura said she was originally studying pre-med in New York but transferred to Bloomington two years ago to study and hone her music, and she hasn’t looked back since. 

COLIN SORGI

A violinist for the quartet, Sorgi, has family ties to his musical beginnings.
Both of his parents are violinists, and after trying the cello and piano, Sorgi said he begged them to let him try the violin, loving it after the first sound.

Sorgi said the payoff for playing music for him comes when it is time to go on stage. 
“Performance is the reason why I play music,” he said, adding that performing is, in a word, “Exhilarating.”

ROSE WOLLMAN

Wollman, the group’s second member, plays the viola. Currently working on her doctorate degree at IU, Wollman has played in a variety of locales, from New York to Switzerland to Tokyo.

Wollman said the most appealing aspect of music to her is the collaborative nature of it. She said she also enjoys every step in the process, from the rehearsal to the end of the performance. 

After completing her studies at IU, she said she hopes to continue to play and teach at a college or university, enriching musical minds like her own.