What happens when you combine an accordion, oboe, cello, violin and operatic tenor vocals? Audience members at the next installment of the Auditorium Chamber Music Series (ACMS) featuring Quartetto Gelato will find out at 7:30pm Nov. 7 when the “eclectic” group takes the stage in the UI Administration Building Auditorium.
Quartetto Gelato is one of five musical ensembles that will perform in the 2017-18 series. ACMS director Leonard Garrison said Quartetto Gelato is “a lot of fun.”
Despite occasionally straying from what Garrison said is “stuffy classical music,” he said the “excellence of the artists is unparalleled” in each of the ACMS concerts.
“We have reports from people who say they moved to Moscow because of this concert series,” Garrison said.
Hunter Cornia, a fourth-year music education student who occupies the student position on the ACMS board said he considers the ACMS performances to be “top-of-the-line.”
“Just being a music student, whether you’re music education or you’re performance, one of the big things is being able to go out and see incredible, world-class performers,” Cornia said.
Cornia said in a small town like Moscow, it is especially important to bring in high-end performers.
“If you go to a place like the Boston Conservatory or Julliard, you have the New York Philharmonic right in your back door to go and watch whenever you want,” Cornia said. “The opportunity to bring these world-class performers for the students and then also the community is just really awesome.”
The guest performers work on more than just their main concert during their time in Moscow.
“All five of the groups do outreach,” Garrison said. “They interact with our students, hold a Q and A… sometimes they even perform popup concerts at One World Cafe.”
Other common outreach projects for ACMS guest artists include performing for assisted living centers or at hospitals.
For its Moscow outreach program, Quartetto Gelato will play the annual Young People’s Concert in the UI Admin Auditorium.
“We bus in all the fifth graders from the area,” Garrison said. “The kids are all wild and enthusiastic.”
Although they spend a lot of time making music around the Moscow community, the ACMS ensembles also spend time at UI. There they work with students and serve as inspiration for the aspiring professional musicians.
Behind the opportunity for students to interact with professionals in their field is a “very active board,” Garrison said.
ACMS board members fundraise for concerts, provide food and transportation to artists, and volunteer as ticket collectors and ushers during the performances, among other things.
It’s a role Cheyenne Kilian, a second-year graduate student studying musical performance on flute and a member of the ACMS board, said she enjoys.
“I like being in something that’s been around for so long, and getting to help,” Kilian said. “It’s interesting to see how something as big as ACMS is run.”
Kilian said she typically runs the will call box for concerts, but also planned a dinner for college students with one of the performing groups last year.
Kilian said the concerts can help college students see what they can do after graduating from the Lionel Hampton School of Music.
“It’s cool getting to ask them (about) their experiences, and how they got to where they are,” Kilian said about the ACMS performers.
ACMS concerts are not limited to music students — anyone can attend. Kilian said Quartetto Gelato is all about showmanship and should provide an entertaining event.
“They’re a good introduction to music to anybody who hasn’t been to a concert before,” Garrison said. “It would be a good first exposure.”
Beth Hoots can be reached at [email protected]
All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in the UI Administration Building Auditorium.
Quartetto Gelato — Nov. 7
Ying String Quartet — Jan. 25
Calefax Reed Quintet — March 6
Horszowski Trio — April 24
Cost: Tickets are $10 for students, $20 for seniors, and $25 for general admission. Students in the Honors Program or select music classes have their admission costs waived.