Chamber Music Night: Stringing it together
Two ensembles - Ursa Major and Aurora Strings - of the Juneau Strings Ensembles, which also includes the beginner ensemble Ursa Minor, will perform the annual Chamber Music Night at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Northern Light United Church.
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Guo Hua Xia, conductor of the three ensembles and musical director for Juneau Strings Ensembles, said students work during the year to produce the annual fundraiser.
"Chamber Music Night ... good for some, who are ready, to have a chance to play together," he said.
A violin soloist often has few chances to perform, "but to play chamber music, that is wide open," Xia said. "You can have different levels, different people, all kinds of things."
Maggie Ross, a violinist in Ursa Major - the firstly formed and most advanced group of the Juneau String Ensembles - has played for six years. She described the nature of chamber music.
CONCERT
Chamber Music Night
What: Juneau String Ensembles annual concert fundraiser.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19.
Where: Northern Light United Church.
Tickets: $10 adults, free for students.
Details: 586-3994 or www.juneaustrings.org.
"It's definately different playing in chamber music as opposed to playing a solo with accompyment, because when you're playing a solo, you have more freedom," she said. "You can stretch some, take a little bit of time, go a little bit slower or speed up a little bit. You just have more freedom that way."
"With chamber music, you're looking at the conductor, who has that freedom," Ross continued. "He conducts you and he conducts the whole group to do that at the same time. And so that's different because you have to really concentrate on playing together and melding the sound."
Ross said playing in the orchestra is similar to singing choir.
"You don't want one voice to stand out," she said.
But "it's not like a band," said Finn Sinclair, 8, a third-year violinist for Aurora Strings who started playing when he was 4. "It's actually much bigger; so the conductor has to do a lot of putting together. And a lot of times, the orchestra does not obey the conductor, which is pretty infuriating to the conductor."
"I think it is a little bit (more difficult)," Ross agreed. "Because you really have to be in tune to what other people are doing. You can't really just pay attention to your part."
Although the complexities of playing in an orchestra are demanding, Xia emphasized the pleasure of chamber music.
"You can play chamber music to enjoy the chamber music," Xia agreed. "They can do more things, not only (focus on) individual technique."
Auri Clark, 13, who has played violin for five years, with the Aurora Strings for three, said she enjoys chamber music.
"Just playing with a group, I have more fun performing than I do when I'm playing by myself at individual concerts," Clark said.
"Every year we practice learning some new songs," Xia said. "This year we feature some fun music, like movie music and dance music."
Among popular classical pieces, Ursa Major will play a piece from the fourth Harry Potter movie and from the movie 'Magnificent Seven.'
"We're working on some pieces from movies and stuff," Clark said, "which is fun."
Aurora Strings - the second ensemble of the Juneau Strings Ensemble - will play a variety of songs, including "Mango Tango," arranged by Robert S. Frost; "Wabash Cannonball," arranged by Carrie Lane Gruselle; and a fiddle piece, "Going to Boston," also arranged by Gruselle.
Sinclair was excited about his role in the concert.
"I am part of a quartet that will play 'Nocturne,' from 'MidSummer Night's Dream,' and 'Presto,' (Quartet No. 7 by Franz Peter Schubert)," he said.
Sinclair also will perform Johann Sebastian Bach's "Concerto for Two Violins, First Movement," with his friend, Forest Kobayashi. Ursa Major will accompany them.
"In my quartet, it's just amazing how (there is) normal music and normal kids and how hard it is to put those together," Sinclair said. "(It would be easy) if the music is easy and people are nice, but those just don't go together. It's hard to put those things together, but it's working!"
Ross enjoys playing the first movement of "Brandenburg No. 3," which they will perform Saturday.
"That's definately a fun piece," Ross said. "It has a lot of fun play between the instruments, between the parts. There's a lot of sort of question-and-answer between parts that's really fun to do."
"I like the infinite possibility of notes," Sinclair said about playing violin. "Out of four strings, it's amazing what you can do!"
Enthusiastic about Saturday, Sinclair is looking forward to future concerts.
"It's really nice to share this beautiful stuff with a whole bunch of people," he said. "It makes you proud."
• Kim Andree may be contacted at kimberly.andree@juneauempire.com.