Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Jefferson Somerset's high school students attended a performance of the Amernet String Quartet on Thursday, Jan. 20, as part of The Artist Series of Tallahassee. The Miami-based professional quartet is comprised of music professors on the faculty of Florida International University: Misha Vitenson on violin; Avi Nagin on violin; Michael Klotz on viola; and Jason Calloway on cello. Students gathered in the cafeteria to hear them not only play a number of classical music selections but learn some of each composer's life story.
Jefferson Somerset's music teacher, Keith Morley expressed appreciation for the opportunity “to expose the students to another side of music,” which he felt had the potential to be life-changing for the them.
The program began with two movements from String Quartet No. 2, by Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942), a Jewish composer during World War II whose music was not performed until after the war. Then the quartet played two pieces from “Danzas de Panama,” which are based on a collection of Panamanian folk tunes. The composer, William Grant Still Jr. (1895-1978), was the first very successful and famous black composer in the United States in the 20th century. He conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic Symphony and composed nearly 200 works. Finally, the quartet played two songs from Four Pieces from Much Ado About Nothing, by Eric Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), who was the most famous of film score composers from the early 20th century.
After the concert, 10th-grade student Jamie Moore said, “They were an amazing group. Having them come out to the school, that's really fun.”
Johnathan Youngblood, also in 10th grade, commented, “I think the concert was a nice way of getting students an introduction of music and they got to learn more about violins, cellos and the different types of instruments. I am grateful that we had this experience.”
The selections for the Jefferson Somerset concert were chosen from the full program that the Amernet String Quartet played on Sunday at Opperman Music Hall at Florida State University. Melanie Mays, executive director of The Artist Series of Tallahassee, made tickets to the Sunday performance available for free to Jefferson-Somerset students.
The Artist Series receives funding from South Arts, the National Endowment of the Arts and a Fast Track Grant from the Florida Department of State, Division of Arts & Culture, to bring professional musicians to students in Leon, Gadsden and Jefferson counties. The Artist Series has made this part of their mission for 27 years.
Director Mays says, “We're glad that we've been able to include Jefferson Somerset since 2017 in this educational outreach.”
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