On the Street with the Jasper String Quartet

By Ashley Swanson on July 9, 2010

OPB welcomes Ashley Swanson to the team!  A native of the Pacific Northwest, Ashley is a recent graduate of Linfield College, where she majored in Creative Writing.  Ashley will be using her storytelling skills mainly for Oregon Art Beat during a summer residency with us.  Check out the first of her blog series about Chamber Music Northwest’s Protégé Project.

Chamber music brings to mind an audience silently sitting with a shivering intensity in concert halls, listening to classic European and modern composers as the musicians coax wonderful layers of sounds with unwavering skill.

I don’t think Haydn ever expected his composition to be backed by the sunny sounds of Portland’s streets.

Chamber Music NW is celebrating their 40th Anniversary summer festival, filling the month to the brim with chamber concerts, free events, and open rehearsals.  But it wasn’t enough for Artistic Director David Shifrin, who invited talented young musicians from all over the country to be apart of the new Protégé Project. The Protégés are performing in the festival’s concerts and studying alongside acclaimed musicians, but the Project also aims to bring chamber music to the Portland community in alternative settings.

In the bright noon sun, the Jasper String Quartet and clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois played for PCPA’s Music On Main Street to the casual crowd visiting the farmer’s market. Families eating lunch, older couples holding hands, vendors quietly watching next to their booths, and even passers-by slowed on the street to watch these young musicians as the cars drummed by.

Even the loud wail of an unfortunate ambulance only adds to the performance, as J Freivogel, the first violinist of the Jaspers, announces, “John Cage, a great thinker and composer of the twentieth century believed that everything is music. That when you’re sitting in a concert hall and you’re listening to a Haydn string quartet and somebody starts coughing, in fact that is also music. But for those of you who don’t think the ambulance really adds to the music, or would like to hear us better, please come closer to the stage.”

The crowd chuckles as J goes on with a grin, “I’m actually very serious, you can even come sit on the stage if you want.”

Behind the scenes, the Jaspers were happy to talk about what chamber music means to them, and their own casual experiences in Portland.

The magic found in those mighty concert halls is still present in this noon concert, but feels exceedingly more tangible as little girls sat on the street curb watching the vigorous bows of the instruments rush across the strings. Though the musicians did eventually move inside with the crowd happily following, all the bustling still felt like music gathering around a new stage.

The Jasper String Quartet will be playing their next free concert on July 17th at OMSI from 4-5PM. Or check out the Sospiro Winds this Sunday, July 11th at the Someday Lounge for more chamber music in a casual setting. I’ll be there to explore how the Protégé Project is taking to Portland’s music scene.

For more information about the schedule visit Chamber Music NW and stop by the Protégé blog for more behind the scenes thoughts from the musicians.