Provided by Afiara String Quartet website. Check them out @ http://afiara.com/ !

Sunday, September 29th my Music of Western Cultures II class ventured outside the classroom and into a church. Our Professor Liz Haskins arranged for us to see and listen to the Afiara String Quartet. My class gathered at 6pm Sunday evening in BCAC (Boyd Cultural Arts Center) parking lot – a welcome change from our typical class time from 6:30pm to 9:00pm on Tuesdays in class room -- to start our educational outing. We piled in the school vans and arrived in a small town called Yellow Springs about 25 minutes away. 

                First Presbyterian Church of Yellow Springs hosted this event. The Afiara String Quartet is based out of Canada and have travelled all over the globe. For those of you who don’t know what a string quartet is, that’s okay. I didn’t know exactly what it was until my class with Liz Haskins. A string quartet typically involves four instruments: 2 violins, a cello, and viola.

Normally, classical music is not my go-to music choice, but I found it really interesting to read about these artists’ backgrounds. Of the musicians in this string quartet, two of them had studied at The Julliard School, one of the prestigious, if not the most prestigious musical school in the world. The other two had studied at the New England Conservatory, another well- renowned music school. Of the two who studied at Julliard, one of them was playing on a violin that was from 1737! I can’t imagine playing an instrument almost 300 years old, I’d be too worried about breaking it, rather than playing music!  

The quartet played two pieces by Beethoven and one by a recent composer who wrote a piece for one of the members’ mother. The Beethoven pieces were very expressive and lively. The other was a bit eclectic, but by the end of the piece I appreciated the variety of feelings this creative endeavor elicited.  After the concert, Liz Haskins treated us to Subway for dinner - a lovely way to end an educational experience outside the classroom.