At the start of the week, the students quietly filed into the gymnasium as four adults, in the center of the room, played bursts of beautiful music. And that was just to warm up their instruments. Certainly for adults and students at The Dorset School (TDS), as everywhere else, Monday mornings are historically something to be gotten through after the weekend. Not this one, not with an hour-long concert by The Taconic String Quartet.
“It’s such an honor to have internationally known musicians play at our humble school,” said TDS music teacher Daniel Seiden. “The novelty of the moment leads to a curiosity that can open minds to all kinds of great possibilities for our kids.”
The musical foursome includes Joana Genova and Heather Braun on violin, Ariel Rudiakov on viola, and Nathaniel Parke on cello. The talented musicians from all over the world have settled in Southwestern Vermont to continue their craft and spread the joy and wonder of music.
At the concert, however, the members of the quartet were much more than stellar musicians. They each took a turn between selections to teach the kids about the composers and the times that formed them. Rudiakov explained how instruments — in his case a viola — are made. He also described how a low-technology but long-lasting violin is made from wood and glue and played by a bow with a string made of horse hair.
Another tipped the kids on what may have motivated each composer whose music they performed. The famous composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, for example, created a piece after overhearing a workman whistling an arresting tune while painting a house.
The Taconic Quartet took the young listeners across the globe, with compositions from the United States, France, Hungary, Bulgaria and Russia. Each piece was contextualized for better understanding and enjoyment. A dreamy, fleeting piece from France by Claude Debussy, for example, was written around the time impressionism in painting was born with quick strokes capturing a moment in time.
The TDS concert also showed the quartet’s versatility and connection to local artists. In a special nod of appreciation to the school, the program included the debut presentation of “Way Down in the Fall,” an original composition written by The Dorset School’s Seiden.
For the four members of the quartet, the annual performance at the Dorset School is an opportunity to introduce classical instruments and the sounds they can make in expert hands. But it also allows the students to subtly understand that doing something well takes years of patient practice and discipline. In the quartet’s case, following their passion for decades has resulted in playing music for the ages.
One student offered an on-the-spot review as he left the gymnasium. “I loved how the music moved from a slow to a more energetic pace. The highs and the lows - it’s all about the transitions.”
A bypassing teacher overheard the comment and nodded in approval. “Nice word.” And they both moved on to the next class on a different type of Monday.
(Photo above: The Taconic String Quartet performs “Don’t Tread on Me or On My String Quartet” by the American composer Russel Peck.)
Dorset students mesmerized as the Taconic String Quartet completes its final tune-up before the concert.
Ariel Rudiakov reveals to the Dorset students that the bow string for his cello is made of horse hair.
Violinists Heather Braun (left) and Joana Genova play a folk dance written by Zoltan Kodaly of Hungary.
Dorset students show their appreciation for the music of the Taconic String Quartet.
Ariel Rudiakov (right) on viola and Nathaniel Parke on cello focus on the musical score while playing a Bulgarian folk dance.