November Concert Round-up

A key feature of the vision for the Newport String Project is to establish a string quartet residency, enabling us to serve more students and offer an expanded concert season. As with our October performances, we were delighted to present another program of string quartets this month - Haydn's op 77 no 1 in G major and Shostakovich's String Quartet No 1.

Haydn - the Big Papa of the String Quartet

A very youthful Shostakovich with a cat

We were delighted to be joined by guest artists Lauren Nelson (viola) and Ariana Falk (cello). Not only did Lauren and Ariana bring their fabulous musicianship to rehearsals, we also had the company of Lauren's two beautiful cats, Jazz and Blue and Ariana's gorgeous black lab puppy, Tessa. And yes, at one point they were indeed all under the same roof! (Very nearly a Musicians-of-Brementown moment...)

Blue gazes adoringly at Lauren

Tessa with the band

On Saturday, we set out our music stands in the intimate, funky performance space of Empire Tea & Coffee. The swirling sounds of Haydn and Shostakovich quartets added to the sensory delights of wafting coffee and freshly baked goods. We were delighted to pique the curiosity of a few bemused coffee enthusiasts and look forward to coaxing a few more listeners into the room with us next time we visit Empire. Many thanks to the staff there for their warm welcome!

Sunday brought us to the Edward King House - a senior center facility housed in the majestic building located just behind the Newport Public Library. The warm and welcoming audience listened attentively and afterwards shared their particular enthusiasm for the sound world of the Shostakovich. Many thanks to all those who attended this weekend's performances - we will soon be revealing details of our next concerts (*gleeful drumming of fingertips*), keep up-to-date on the latest by liking our Facebook page and joining the mailing list!