An anonymous donor's gift to the Greene County Council on the Arts brought the Evander Quartet -- four young musicians from the Eastman School of Music -- to Catskill for a series of appearances around Greene, Columbia, and Ulster counties this summer. The sophomores from Syracuse are playing at Sunday brunches at the Catskill Mountain Lodge, which is donating lodging for the group, as well as at many area libraries, the Catskill Community Theater, Beattie-Powers Place, and the Saugerties Farmer's Market. Last Saturday afternoon they stopped by the Catskill Community Center with Fawn Potash of the arts council, and spoke with Dharma Dailey about their visit to Catskill. Click here to listen to mp3 recording of the interview from the new WGXC studio in the Catskill Community Center.


From a press release from the Greene County Council on the Arts:

During their Hudson Valley residency May 13 - June 15th, classical music audiences will meet Ben Fried, the group’s cello player studying composition, klezmer and classical technique with a dizzying array of honors and medals including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition five years in a row. Alexander Lee, violinist and former member of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. He served as its concertmaster and won its concerto competition. Victor Ronchetti, violinist made his Lincoln Center debut at Avery Fisher Hall when he was ten-years old, performing the first movement of the Mozart A Major Concerto with the Little Orchestra Society. Matthew Cox, viola player has been a member of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Young Sinfonia and he has also performed professionally with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The Catskill Mountain Lodge on Route 32A in Palenville is generously donating rooms for the quartet during their Hudson Valley residency. You can find them at the at the hotel’s restaurant Kindred Spirits classical brunch on Sundays from 10 AM -1 PM and Fridays in the pub from 5-7 PM. Or catch them in a nightly rehearsal behind the hotel at their creekside fire circle.
Most performances are free! To book the Evander Quartet for a public performance or house party, contact
Fawn Potash at 518/943-3400 or email fawn@greenearts.org. Confirmed dates coming up:
Sunday, May 22, 3 PM, Concert, North Chatham Free Library, 4287 Route 203, Call 518-766-3211 for more information.
Sunday, May 29, 2 PM, Beattie Powers House, Prospect Ave. & West Bridge Street in Catskill, concert with the Catskill Community Orchestra- 1st Movement of Beethoven’s 8th, Conductor David Woodin’s newly composed string quartet debut + Evander Quartet repertoire selection. Call 518-943-4764 for more information.
Saturday, June 4th concert from 4:30 - 6 PM followed by a wine and cheese reception at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library, 9091 Route 22 in Hillsdale NY. Call 518-325-4101 for more information.
Sunday, June 5 from 2-4 PM at the Community Movie Theater, 373 Main Street, Catskill: Act 1 Evander Quartet; Act 2 Bing, Bang, Boing artist/musicians performing solo and ensemble acts with their handmade experimental instruments; Act 3 an improvisational jam, followed by a reception at GCCA Catskill Gallery's Bing, Bang, Boing exhibition, 398 Main Street. Call the GCCA at 943-3400 for more information.
Saturday, June 11 from 11-2 at the Saugerties Farm Market, Main Street parking lot, Saugerties NY. Call Ann Krupp for more information at 845-246-6466.
Other possibilities include farm markets, non-profit fund-raisers, opening acts for jazz or classical programs, school appearances with short performances and an instrument "petting zoo" for younger audiences and performance/talks for music students on what it takes to get into a conservatory. Rob Caldwell, the owner of Hudson's music store, Musica, said he couldn't stop watching their You-Tube videos.