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Pacifica Quartet: Loves to play hits and run |
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Written by Rebecca LaPole
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Thursday, 11 January 2007 |
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Photo for NEXTnc courtesy of www.pacificaquartet.com
Pacifica Quartet are, from left, Brandon Vamos, Masumi Rostad, Simin Ganatra and Sibbi Bernhardsson.
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They run, but they have no desire to hide.
The Pacifica Quartet, one of the most skilled string quartets in the country, brings its musical repertoire that spans the centuries to Fort Collins.
And if you keep your eyes peeled, you might see one of the group’s members jogging on the streets and sidewalks of the Choice City, if they’re able dodge the snow drifts.
“I love seeing all the different places on tour. Even though it’s usually just a quick in and out, we get a quick sense of the place,” viola player Masumi Rostad said. “Most of us go running wherever we visit, and that’s a great way to see a lot of the town. I just take it as scoping out where I want to visit for a longer period of time in the future.”
The group is the Faculty Quartet in Residence at University of Illinois, but members’ hometowns are scattered.
Rostad hails from New York, cellist Brandon Vamos is from Chicago, second violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson is from Iceland, and first violinist Simin Ganatra calls Los Angeles home.
The quartet recently took on the challenge of performing the complete cycle of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Elliott Carter’s five quartets. Pacifica did these shows in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Cleveland, and abroad in Japan, Germany, and the Edinburgh International Festival.
Although Rostad said the quartet embraced the project, members don’t like to limit themselves to one style of music.
“As a string quartet, we are defined by our repertoire and we usually just pick as many different kinds of music that we like,” Rostad said. “We are not into having so many musical distinctions, such as music writers who like to put everything into genres. In rehearsal we usually span centuries.”
And when the quartet takes the stage, the familiarity and trust among the group’s members translates into seamless performances, Rostad said.
“Things are going so well for the quartet right now, and I just find it interesting to see how we’ve changed over the years,” Rostad said. “It’s fascinating to see how subtle our communication can be, how few words it takes to convey and transfer information to one another.”
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TO GO TO THE SHOW
Pacifica Quartet
7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 16
Edna Rizley Griffin Concert Hall at the University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St., Fort Collins
$12 students, $22 general. For tickets go to: www.fcgov.com/lctix
For more information on the quartet, go to www.pacificaquartet.com | Only registered users can write comments.
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