SCHOOL PRESENTATION ON DVD

As part of our residency in Sioux City, we present "informances" in every elementary school in the area. Our informances are tailored towards 3rd, 4th, & 5th graders, and through a mix of music, skits, and jokes, we teach students all about string instruments. The goal of these presentations is to encourage more students to become involved in string programs, and over the past six years this has certainly been successful - since the start of the program in 2001 the number of children enrolling in the string program multiplies every year! Informances are just one of the many educational activities we do to help build string programs in the community, and we are currently making a DVD which will document our elementary school programs and much more. This video will be available for viewing on our website, and there are currently some informance clips already posted.

(www.euclidquartet.net/Video.html)

TRAVELING AS A QUARTET

As a touring ensemble, we spend a lot of time on the road (and in the air!). One of our favorite things to do as a quartet is travel, because we get to enjoy so many different parts of the country, and we meet great people everywhere we go.  At times the travelling can be tough, because of bad weather or flight delays, but it is always worth it when we arrive and get to perform for a new audience. Of course, we can't rehearse 24 hours a day, and spending time exploring and learning about our location is a fun way for us to relax and de-stress before the concert. For example, we never felt more rejuvenated then after we spent a few hours on the beach of Lake Michigan during our summer concerts at the Manitou Music Festival.  And we have been blessed to have wonderful hosts at each of our destinations, whose generosity makes each trip unforgettable, so we'd like to offer our thanks to them. Read some of our recent travel stories:

Official EQ Journal or Luis's Journal. 

(www.euclidquartet.net/journal.html or

www.vargasviolist.com/journal.htm)

NEW! E.Q. SHOP

We now have a section in our website called E.Q. Shop, where you can find some cool stuff like Euclid Quartet t-shirts, mugs and, very soon, CDs as well. They all feature our nice-looking Euclid Quartet logo. If you feel like doing a little shopping around and want to take a peek, visit the E.Q. Shop!

(www.euclidquartet.net/eq_shop.html)

CAMERATA TOUR TO IRELAND

As a result of our successful recruiting efforts over the last couple of years, Morningside College now boasts a side by side faculty/student string orchestra. This unique new ensemble, called the Morningside Camerata, recently gave its fall recital at the college in a program featuring guest flautist and Morningside faculty member, Martha Councell, in J.S. Bach's Suite No. 2. The Camerata will perform next at the annual Christmas at Morningside concerts. At the college, we're all very proud of this exciting new group and will be taking the Camerata on tour to England and Ireland next May.

CHAMBER MUSIC FOR ADULTS

The Euclid Quartet, in partnership with Skidmore College, in Saratoga Springs, New York, will inaugurate a week-long chamber music workshop for adult amateurs in August, 2007. Timed to coincide with the best of Saratoga's summer offerings, the week will feature intensive rehearsals, coachings with the members of EQ, and group musical and social activities. But that's only part of the score for the week: participants will also have many opportunities to enjoy Philadelphia Orchestra concerts, fine dining, shopping, beautiful outdoor activities, and of course the famous thoroughbred horse races. For more information on this new workshop, keep watching our website.
 

 
"LUDI" AT ASPEN

One of the highlights of our summer was performing as guest artists at the Aspen Music Festival. The performance was shared with our friends and colleagues in the Degas Quartet. Each quartet performed individually, and then we collaborated for the world premiere of "Ludi", written for string octet by Armando Bayolo. It was a great experience to return to Aspen as guest artists, since we had been there just a few years ago as students in the Advanced Quartet program, and the performance was received warmly by the audience. Our work with "Ludi" continues into our 2006-2007 season: in January we'll be presenting a session at the national Chamber Music America conference about our experiences with the piece, and in April we'll be performing the East Coast premiere at the Library of Congress, where we are lucky enough to have the use of the Library's Stradivarius collection.