Boise State’s graduate string quartet, comprised of four student musicians who earned their two-year appointment through a rigorous audition process, “is a showcase ensemble for the Boise State music department,” said Brian Hodges, a professor of cello.
Quartet members receive scholarships in exchange for performing with the Boise Philharmonic, with the Boise State Symphony Orchestra, and in numerous other concerts on and off campus, including fundraising events, outreach in local schools and other special occasions.
“We are proud to have them represent the music department and are thrilled at the hard work, ambition and imagination they bring to the program,” Hodges said.
The four shared some of their thoughts about music, motivation and good additions for any playlist.
Ryann Aery, violin.
Q: What’s an underrated/under-the-radar/under-appreciated piece of music (from any genre) that we should all listen to?
A: Right now, the quartet is working on Quartet no. 4 by Petris Vasks. We stumbled upon it while looking for new repertoire this semester. I had never heard the piece or of the composer before, and it is my current obsession.
Q: What was the piece of music that made you want to become a performer?
A: When I played the Barber Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall in New York City. I had never felt so connected to a piece of music and to the audience. I remember being on stage and thinking to myself, “I don’t know what I would do without music in my life.” As performers, we have this unique opportunity to provide people the ability to feel/take away something from our music, as well as being able to feel something ourselves. Every piece is a story being told by a composer and it is our job to tell it in our own way for others to experience.
Q: What is something about the instrument you play that most people don’t know?
A: Most violins are made from approximately 70 different types of spruce and maple.
Q: When and how did you first click with your instrument?
A: When I was little, I was obsessed with The Nutcracker. I’d listen to the music, watch the movie and dance around to it almost every day, no matter what season it was. My family saw how drawn to the music I was. They thought I’d like taking violin lessons. They were right. I started when I was 5 years old and haven’t stopped since.
Jessica Harned, violin.
Q: What’s an underrated/under-the-radar/under-appreciated piece of music (from any genre) that we should all listen to?
A: I am interested in recently rediscovered works and works by contemporary artists. I would recommend looking into Florence Price, Violin Concerto No. 1 or 2. They are gorgeous. Outside of classical music, if you haven’t heard D’Angelo and The Vanguard, you should check them out. They groove hard.
Q: What was the piece of music that made you want to become a performer?
A: There really isn’t one. But one that I have always wanted to play and recently studied was the Violin Concerto in D Major by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. It’s amazing.
Q: What is something about the instrument you play that most people don’t know?
A: Many of my young and adult students, after choosing to pick up this instrument are always quite shocked at how difficult it is. How it’s not something that comes to you easily.
Q: When and how did you first click with your instrument?
A: I was about 6 and watching Itzhak Perlman perform on PBS. I am not sure what he played, but I remember it being brilliant. I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I promptly asked for lessons. My parents were 100 percent supportive, but had me take piano first. After two years of piano, I began violin as well, at age 8. I’ve stuck with it ever since.
Taylor Rhodes, cello.
Q: What’s an underrated/under-the-radar/under-appreciated piece of music (from any genre) that we should all listen to?
A: Baroque music in general is often under-appreciated. Baroque composers were the boundary-pushers of their time. And when played in the proper style on authentic instruments, Baroque music becomes electric and visceral. It’s truly thrilling. “Battalia” by Heinrich von Biber is a great one. It tells a story and uses surprisingly contemporary effects like gunfire in the basso.
Q: What was the piece of music that made you want to become a performer?
A: Cello Concerto no. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich. My uncle gave me a recording of this piece performed by Yo Yo Ma when I was 9 years old and it has captivated me ever since. Just this semester I have finally finished learning it.
Q: What is something about the instrument you play that most people don’t know?
A: Cellos can do everything. I’ve played in punk bands, pop bands, recorded metal tracks, and even performed Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” in a cello ensemble, guitar solo and all.
Q: When, and how did you first click with your instrument?
A: I loved it from my first lessons at age 11 but really started to click with it in high school, after discovering all the other genres the cello is capable of. Being able to blend elements of many different styles really brought the cello to life for me and changed my approach to teaching and performing.
Aurora Torres, viola.
Q: What’s an underrated/under-the-radar/under-appreciated piece of music (from any genre) that we should all listen to?
A: I encourage every person reading this to look up the artist Grace Acladna. She is an experimental electronic pop artist from London whose music comes from her Egyptian and Bajan heritage.
Q: What was the piece of music that made you want to become a performer?
A: I was in eighth grade when I had my first experience performing in a string quartet. We were performing a contemporary piece that had just been written by a local composer. I was still quite young and had never encountered a newly composed work. I was absolutely blown away and captivated by the sheer weirdness of the piece. I had never played music like that before. All the rules I had been taught about how to play music went right out the window. I was absolutely fascinated by it and immediately fell in love with performing contemporary music.
Q: What is something about the instrument you play that most people don’t know?
A: The fact the viola is an instrument is a fact about the instrument most people don’t know. That’s a viola joke. Although there is some truth in that. The viola, historically speaking, has always been a bit of a wallflower in the classical music world. Any person can point out a violin, a cello, a harp, etc. But the viola? That is something else.
Q: When, and how did you first click with your instrument?
A: I started on violin. I was in eighth grade when my teacher switched me to viola since there were no viola players in our class. From that moment on, as soon as people heard I played viola, I was only ever asked to play viola. It was quite frustrating as a teenager who wanted to become a violinist. When I started college, I made the decision to put the viola away and focus on the violin. I hid the fact that I played viola from all of the professors at my audition at The College of Idaho. They found out, however, and asked me to continue playing viola. In 2010 I took an audition for the Boise Philharmonic and won the section viola position. At that moment that I truly felt a connection with my instrument. It was as though the viola chose me, and not the other way around. After that audition I put away my violin.