Subject: Spring VSQ Newsletter

Honor Orchestra Success					UPCOMING EVENTS: February 18^th at 6:30pm Pikes Peak Center Colorado Springs, CO VSQ’s Showcase in Studio Bee March 4^th at noon Denver, CO Recording on NPR in Denver KVOD March 8^th at 7:30pm La Junta, CO VSQ Performance March 14^th at 2:30pm Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO “Women of Note” VSQ’s Concert Series March 21^st at 2:30pm Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center Pueblo, CO “Women of Note” VSQ’s Concert Series April 20^th at 7:30pm Hoag Hall CSU-Pueblo Campus Pueblo, CO CSU-Pueblo Chamber Ensemble and Orchestra Concert April 24^th at 7pm Ascension Episcopal Church Pueblo, CO CSU-Pueblo Chamber Ensemble and Orchestra Concert SPECIAL NOTES:
This past November, I had the honor of being selected as a guest conductor for the 2009 Southern Colorado High School Honor Choir, Orchestra, and Strings Festival held on the campus of CSU-Pueblo. For two days, nearly 200 young musicians from throughout southern and eastern Colorado came together for the purpose of playing music, sharing music, and growing stronger musically. Our time together culminated in an inspiring concert for a capacity audience in Hoag Hall. All honor groups and festivals provide a valuable musical experience for participants. The Southern Colorado Festival, however, provided some unique experiences. Musicians not only had the opportunity to rehearse and perform together, they also heard a recital featuring student string quartets, listened to performances by university musicians and the incredible Veronika String Quartet, and they could choose to participate in a solo competition. Many of the musicians commented on the benefit of hearing other performances during the Festival. Another unique aspect of this Festival is the opportunity to perform with a choir. There is a wealth of incredible music written for orchestra and choir, and Festival participants were able to delve into this genre performing a movement from Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’.		What was the best feature of this Festival? The enthusiasm of the musicians! Rehearsing for two days is demanding work, yet the 70 string players were on task throughout – listening, learning, and performing. Many musicians echoed this comment, “It’s amazing to come together with people from all over and make wonderful music after just two days. I loved spending the whole two days on nothing but orchestra.” I agree - it is truly remarkable what young musicians can accomplish within a short time. In my opinion, there is nothing more inspiring than spending entire days with energetic, curious, enthusiastic, demanding and outstanding young musicians. Many musicians indicated they would like for the Festival to be even longer! Thank you CSU-Pueblo Music Department for hosting this wonderful opportunity for so many of us to come together as musicians, bridging so many other functions that divide us, so that we could share a common, beautiful and inspiring activity - music. To quote what a Maori tribal elder once told me while on tour in New Zealand, “Through music we are one.” What a wise man! by Gary Nicholson
String Quartet Festival
November 20-21 was the CSU-Pueblo High School Honor Orchestra Festival. Over seventy skilled high school aged string players participated in the honor orchestra that was led by the esteemed conductor of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony, Gary Nicholson. Students worked diligently for many hours each day, and were coached by the members of the world-renowned Veronika String Quartet. All of this hard work paid off in the final concert in the evening of the 21st when the honor orchestra performed works by Handel, Mozart, Bach, and Dvorak. In addition to playing in the orchestra, eleven musicians participated in a solo competition. The winners were violinists Ray Grossman and Bryant So who are members of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association.			The prize for this competition is an opportunity to perform with the CSU-Pueblo Orchestra in April. The High School String Quartet Festival was on November 19-20th. Six string quartets participated, each being coached by members of the Veronika String Quartet. This festival culminated in a concert November 20th in Hoag Hall where each of the quartets performed music ranging from Baroque era music to Romantic. This yearly event is an excellent opportunity for any aspiring young string player. It challenges each musician to achieve their very best as well as having a great time building enduring friendships. by Rebecca Phillips Member of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony
Christmas Recital
On Sunday, December 6, 2009, Members of the Veronika String Quartet hosted a string and piano recital for their private students. The location of the recital was in the sanctuary of Ascension Episcopal Church, located on 18th Street and Grand in Pueblo, Colorado. Children as young as 5 years old through college age performed a variety of classical violin and piano repertoire. A wide range of music was performed, from Suzuki pieces to De Beriot. All students, no matter their level, demonstrated such poise and played beautifully. All of this was a testament to how well trained these students are by their teachers.				Many of these students were accompanied by either pianist, Lynn Gimlin or Veronika Afanassieva. Over the years it has been amazing to hear how these talented students have progressed. Family and friends of the performers came and supported these fine musicians and made up the majority of the audience. A special thank you for inviting cellist, Conor Large to perform Sarabande by J. S. Bach. All four of his siblings performed at the recital and it was very kind of the VSQ to have him play in the same venue with them. Bravo to all! by Laura E. Large
“SRO” at Cello Studio Recital
The private cello studio of Mary Artmann held a recital at CSU-Pueblo on December 13th. Seven young cellists performed with pianist Juanita Deheart, ranging in age from 9-17. One student, Emma Thomas, had the luxury of playing with her in-house accompanist, Grace Thomas, her older sister. The recital was the culmination of the work done in private lessons, home practice, and several performance workshops.				As we scrambled to find more chairs, one distinguished audience member said, "SRO" , which is “standing room only." This proved to be a very popular event with a lovely reception afterwards that was elegantly assembled by the parents of the students performing. Look for the next recital date coming in late Spring and see how much these young people progress! by Mary Artmann
Christmas In A Small Town
Ricky Tims did a presentation which included the VSQ for 6 performances, December 17-19 at theFrancisco Center for the Performing Arts. Each show was a fantastic experience that featured Ricky Tims Christmas arrangements. The combination of talented artists, visual effects, heartwarming stories and thrilling performances was enjoyed by all. This was an excellent event to attend during the Christmas season.				You can view a live recording from the 2009 show on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuqBqexfrhw by Katya
Centuries of Cello Sonatas in Hoag
Mary Artmann collaborated on a faculty recital of Sonatas for Cello and Piano with guest artist, Mary Beth Shaffer on January 15th at CSU-Pueblo. Hoag Hall was well filled with an appreciative audience served with three centuries of Sonatas by Bach, Beethoven, and Prokoffiev. Coincidentally, each of these composers were also virtuoso pianists! The previous weekend, the Artmann/Shaffer Duo performed the same program in Colorado Springs at the home of pianists, Dr. Janice Saffir and Paul Stephens,	as a benefit for the Lamont School of Music Pre-College Scholarship Fund. The VSQ will be offering a masterclass in Chamber Music Performance at the Lamont Academy this summer. Mary's fellow Colorado Mountain Club members, came to cheer her on. The next day she attended the Mountain Club Ski School in her first attempt in cross-country skiing at Monarch! by Mary Artmann
VSQ Weekend “Unmatched Elegance” Performances
The VSQ were guest artists with the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs on January 30 & 31. They performed the music of Elgar’s, “Introduction and Allegro,” under the direction of Maestro Thomas Wilson. The VSQ were given a standing ovation with much cheering. They rewarded the grateful audience with an encore of George Gershwin’s “Nice work if you can get it”				by Katya