Four string quartets start Music Mondays

Four quartets played Monday night at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center Miller Gallery under the glowing white Jiang Mei Wu hanging installations. The performances were the first of “Music Mondays” put on by the center.

The quartets consisted of a mix of undergraduate and graduate students matched according to their skills and experience. All are students of the Grammy-winning Pacifica Quartet.

Pacifica Quartet consists of members Simin Ganatra and Sibbi Bernhardsson, violins; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello. Together they oversee 36 quartets within the Jacobs School of Music from which they handpick to play performances outside of the school.

“The idea is to bring students outside the walls of Jacobs,” Bernhardsson said. “To blend art forms and give them real world experience.”

The four quartets played music from Sergei Prokofiev, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn among the artwork in the gallery.

Mark Hatlestad, who plays violia in the quartet, said the setting was “a nice mixing of different forms” and “an intimate way to play being so close to the
audience.”

Mika Hood, a cellist in her quartet, said she appreciates the opportunity to play outside of the school of music.

“It’s a great opportunity because otherwise we just have a few long concerts a semester,” Hood said. “Working with Pacifica is so great. They brought a great thing to our school. Chamber music is what I want to do, so having a group, that’s really important to me.”

More students who study under the Pacifica Quartet will be playing Nov. 16 at Wylie House Museum, and Nov. 18 and Dec. 9 at the Waldron Arts Center.

Bernhardsson said playing in a quartet is a distinct experience for both listeners and the players themselves.

“It’s all part of a learning experience,” Bernhardsson said. “They’re four individuals sometimes from four different countries even, but they must come together to put on a unified musical performance.”

Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @JanicaKaneshiro.