Chamber Music of the Rockies

The Vinca Quartet serves as Artistic Directors for this 17-year-old chamber music festival situated in picturesque Beaver Creek, CO.  Devoted to providing excellent chamber music studies and performances to string players and pianists, Chamber Music of the Rockies provides a two-week program for teenagers and young college students, as well as a one-week chamber music retreat for adults who play violin, viola, cello or piano.  We provide lessons, coachings, lectures, concert tickets and multiple performance opportunities for each participant in Beaver Creek's beautiful Vilar Hall.  Registration opens January 15, 2011.  Please visit www.ChamberMusicRockies.org for more information.

Perlman Music Program/Suncoast Residency

The quartet serves as the Resident Quartet for Perlman Music Program for the academic year 2010-2011.  We have visited and continue to visit over 3000 students in the counties of Manatee and Sarasota, FL with the goal of enriching existing orchestral programs, inspiring younger students to take up an instrument, and of making classical music a more vital part of students' lives through in-school assemblies, instruction, and free concerts open to the community.  

Comments from the Perlman Music Program/Suncoast Residency:

"My family and I would like to thank you immensely for your performances this past Sunday and last night.  Having been our first chamber music experiences, we appreciate your dedication to sharing your passion with others. You have definitely inspired us to dedicate a significant amount of our time nurturing our new-found appreciation for chamber music." -- family of a young viola student 

Gorgeous Sounds Residency 2008-2010

With the help and work of the Vinca Quartet, the school district of Klickitat, Washington, has started an in-school Suzuki strings program that is integrated into the curriculum of their daily lessons.  All the children of Klickitat Elementary School in Kindergarten and 1st grade levels will be receiving half-hour group classes in general music and violin every day.  In this tiny rural school, we have found a wonderful match to our belief in music and the power of music to help with the learning of life-skills!  For more information or to help this fledgling program, please contact Klickitat School.

Comments from the Gorgeous Sounds Residency

"I have gained a higher respect and therefore a motivation to learn more and attend as much as possible...Wow!  It appears to me that I will learn something new every time I attend....Seeing you in concert has awakened our family's curiosity" – Anne-Marie Slater, President of White Salmon Valley Education Foundation

"The Vinca Quartet provided a musical and educational experience that has NEVER been available to Klickitat students.  Given Klickitat's economic demographic, the Vinca Quartet exposed our students, literally, to a new world of music, performance, artistry, and culture, otherwise not accessible....Having the Vinca Quartet presence has moved our students to an even higher level of promise and hopefulness...THANK YOU!" – Jerry Lynch, Superintendent, Klickitat School District

“The concert was incredible.  For students who were able to come, they would hear sections that they had been walked through with the Quartet [in school]... Students attending these [concerts] would recognize the pieces, musical elements, and continue personal music interpretation.  As an extra bonus, these students actually know the performers and consider them friends... For me, I was amazed at the professional quality of these musicians.  It is our honor and privilege that they have chosen to come to our valley.” – Ramona Harwood, Chenowith Elementary School Music Teacher

Concert Formats:

Perpetually interested in sharing the creative process of music-making, the Vinca Quartet enjoys more interaction between the audience and the quartet than is sometimes possible in a standard concert hall. They have presented concerts “in the round” with the audience on either the outside or the inside of the quartet circle and have invited visual artists to create art in full view of the audience as a real-time response to the music played by the quartet. The Vincas also enjoy pre-concert lectures and post-concert question-answer discussions on a regular basis.

Outreach

The quartet seeks to inspire, empower and educate audiences of all ages. If you are interested in knowing more about our outreach programs, please contact the quartet at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will be happy to send you more details.

Basic Elementary and Middle school presentation: The quartet introduces the basics of stringed instrument physics, shares methods of non-verbal communication within the quartet, and explores with children the emotions, textures, and imagery inspired by music through a combination of interactive games, story telling, and music.

High School and College Level: The quartet provides master classes and coaching sessions with pre-formed groups, and is available to work with composers that have written for string quartet or would like to learn about writing for string instruments. The quartet is available for week-long residencies and shorter residencies across the country.