Attacca String Quartet Residency

The Attacca String Quartet came to the UNCSA School of Music on February 14th and brought quite a Valentine to the Composition Department.

The day began with a seminar that focused on composer-performer relationships, and featured performances of three Caroline Shaw quartets: Entr'acte, Valencia and Blueprint. The group discussed the quartets and their working relationship with the composer, demonstrating elements of the performance style that they had suggested and she had approved.

At the end of their seminar, Professor Lawrence Dillon asked if they had any final words of wisdom for the performers and composers gathered. Cellist Andrew Yee didn’t hesitate. “Kindness,” was the one word he had for everyone assembled. “We understand how terrifying it can be for composers to present their work to performers, and how terrifying it can be to play for the composer.” Kindness, understanding, on both sides, is always beneficial.

"kindness"

The next part of the residency was a recording session of three student compositions that evening:

Alicia Bachorik: Tango
Tyson Davis: String Quartet No. 1
Nicholas Karr: The Flaw in Trying

The group did a great job of not only tackling the challenges presented by each piece but also getting to know the composers and their artistic perspectives in a short time frame. The result was three recordings that really captured the flavor of each composition.

The original plan was for the quartet to choose one of these works to perform for the Friday evening concert culminating their residency. In the end, they were so impressed with all three works that they couldn't choose, so they decided to premiere all three pieces.

That decision gave the three students involved a huge boost on so many levels. It was definitely a clear indication that the Attacca String Quartet was willing to walk the walk, not only advocating kindness but also making it a part of their professional practice.

March 06, 2018