BISQC Blog:

Have (red) van, will travel

Posted by the Calliope Quartet
Monday, 23 August 2010

Greetings, we are the Calliope Quartet, BISQC's Quartet in the Community for 2010! We just arrived in Banff last Thursday evening to be greeted by our favorite mountains and beautiful sunny weather. After several weeks of being in four different corners of the world, we were all ecstatic to see each other once again and return to this beautiful place. Nothing beats goofing off with the the people who know you better than most. In between the jokes and laughter, we spent the next couple of days rehearsing and getting ready for this week's excitement of concerts in places one might least expect a string quartet!

We had our first performance yesterday (Sunday) at the Banff Caribou Lodge, playing quartets by Haydn, Beethoven, Bartók, perhaps a tango, and one of Joplin's familiar rags! The four of us piled into the red mini van along with two violins, a viola, a cello, four chairs, four stands, and Stuart, one of the production managers. Unbeknownst to us, Stuart informed us that a second production manager will be joining us in the van tomorrow. More squashing to come, hopefully we will get a picture later in the week!

When we began our show, the lobby of the hotel was fairly quiet with the exception of a few employees milling around. Then we noticed a family with two young boys peering through the glass from the restaurant! While they enjoyed their dinner, the two boys pushed back the curtains enjoying the music and taking pictures with digital cameras. Several minutes after we began, the music attracted a generous crowd who stayed and listened for quite some time. For the next 45 minutes, the crowd came and went. It was fun to see the music pique the curiosity of kids and adults alike. At the same time, I found it more difficult to keep my concentration in this setting than in the concert hall! I must admit that taking my eyes away from the printed page was quite nerve-wracking this afternoon. How cool it was to have an evolving audience during the performance and having the pleasure of talking to listeners in between movements. I wonder how my comrades feel... as for me, very happy to be in Banff!

ATTENTION COMPETING BISQC QUARTETS:

It is a bit too quiet up here at the Banff Centre, the calm before the storm, a pleasant storm of beautiful music-making. I think I can confidently say that we are all excitedly awaiting your arrival in several days!

Signing off,

Cynthia

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