Thursday, October 10, 2013

Wonderful time in Dark County schools

We have spent this week in Darke County, Ohio, visiting schools and bringing a wide range of music to area high school students, including Bartok, Brubeck, Wolosoff, Fujiwara and Eryilmaz.

DARKE COUNTY – Franklin Monroe and Arcanum students were in for a treat this Monday, as the talented Carpe Diem String Quartet performed for a captive audience in both school gymnasiums.
Each Darke County school is being paid a special visit this week by the string quartet as part of an ongoing Darke County Center for the Arts initiative to encourage the arts in youth.
“Carpe Diem did a tremendous job, and we enjoyed having them out,” said Franklin Monroe Principal Jason Wood. “The Darke County Center for Arts does a great job presenting material for our schools.”

http://dailyadvocate.com/main.asp?SectionID=108&SubSectionID=388&ArticleID=150369

Great bar!

Greenville Ohio - the Coffee Pot. Best coffee I have had in quite a while, so if you are in the Midwest make a trip!

Coffee at the best spot east of the Mississippi!

Breakfast at the Coffee Pot, in Greenville Ohio-this place rocks!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Meet Amy Galluzzo, Carpe Diem String Quartet's amazing new 2nd violinist!

CDSQ's virtual interview with Ms. Galluzzo:

I grew up in England! My accent changes a lot depending on who I'm talking to and what I'm talking about. I moved there when I was 2 and I came back to the States for college.

If I weren't a musician, I would be a physical therapist. I came very close to applying to this or med school, but after much deliberation I realized that I just couldn't imagine myself not playing violin all the time!

Favorite foods/beverages: Chocolate, absolutely. Anything that has chocolate in it or on it!

Favorite composers: This is such a hard question. I think probably Bach; his music is exquisite. But then Beethoven and Brahms are also my favorites. And pretty much everyone else! Bartok is very high on the list for sure. I also love getting to know composers whose music I don't yet know, getting to know their character, their point of view, who they are and what they're trying to say.

Favorite authors: Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, Edgar Allan Poe pop into my mind immediately. Some of my favorite books or book series are: Wheel of Time, Belgariad, Sword of Truth, Earthsea series, Shannara series, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Earth's Children, Narnia... the list could go on a lot longer but that should give you some idea!!

Favorite movies: Ok on top of my list of books this is going to reveal my geek-i-ness! Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (original trilogy) are the ones that come to mind. And I always like to watch Four Weddings and a Funeral because the first wedding was filmed at a church near where I lived in England!

Favorite sports: I danced all through my childhood (ballet, tap and 'modern') until I went to college, and I still love to dance and to watch dance productions.  Racket sports too - we lived for a few years in a very strange house in England that had an extremely decrepit tennis court out back. We all would play tennis together as a family and that has stayed with me.

Favorite hobbies: Reading! Ever since I was a child, I would read constantly. I also make jewelry; I can (and often will) spend hours in a bead store. In fact, last summer I wandered into a bead store in Santa Fe with some friends and I almost got left behind because I was so absorbed with searching for the perfect center bead for a necklace for my mother. I didn't notice that my friends, having long since lost interest, were leaving!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Announcing the release of our latest recording! Volume 3 of Taneyev's Complete String Quartets

Our long project is more than halfway completed, with our third volume of the complete string quartets of Sergei Taneyev finally released by Naxos - check it out here! 
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573010
We've been performing and rehearsing the next quartets slated for recording and we plan on wrapping the project up with the final 3 quartets plus a wonderful SURPRISE piece for the final disk!  Stay tuned!