The Danish String Quartet will bring their internationally-acclaimed talents to the Mahaney Center for the Arts’s Robison Hall on Saturday, Oct. 7. The much-anticipated performance will begin at 8 p.m., following a pre-performance dinner in MCA Lower Lobby (tickets for which are sold separately). Concert tickets are $6 for students.
The program will feature both classical songs as well as Nordic folk tunes from the quartet, whose roots run deep. They met at summer camp when they were teenagers.
“Our friendship has allowed us to enjoy life as a string quartet quite a bit, and we believe that music thrives when musicians are happy, confident and enjoying each other’s company on and off the stage,” the quartet has said.
The Campus spoke to Allison Coyne Carroll, director of the Performing Arts Series, about the upcoming concert.
The Campus: Why is this event relevant to Middlebury?
Allison Coyne Carroll: The Danish String Quartet have been on my radar for quite some time as one of a handful of strong, rising-star quartets today. I’ve been trying for a couple of years to bring them to Middlebury, but despite planning one to two years in advance, we either could not get a date on their busy US tour schedule, or their tour fell during one of our academic break periods.
Finally, all of the stars aligned, and we’re thrilled to be the first stop on the quartet’s North American tour this fall. We even have the quartet in Middlebury for an extra day to teach lessons to some of the string players on campus and to squeeze in some fall foliage hiking.
While the Danish play the standard classical quartet repertoire that complements Middlebury’s music history course work, their innovative programming also includes contemporary works and self-arrangements of Nordic folk music for quartet. I chose a program that includes the latter for their Middlebury performance, as it is very reminiscent of the Quebecois fiddle music prevalent here in Vermont.
They’re also very down-to-earth musicians who make chamber music more approachable — just check out some of the videos on their Facebook feed — and I hope this will resonate on campus.
