BAAM at The Gem Presents the Rasa String Quartet: Jazz Meets Counterpoint

Join BAAM at The Gem in welcoming the Rasa String Quartet to Bethel on Sunday, February 4th at 2:00 pm.

Come find out why jazz standards and Mozart belong together in the same program! Jazz meets counterpoint in Rasa’s upcoming winter concert, telling a tale of two seemingly disparate styles that come together beautifully, ending in the exhilarating finale of Shostakovich’s unrelenting ninth string quartet.

Rasa String Quartet finds its niche exploring the musical space where classical and folk traditions intersect and influence one another. 

Formed in 2019, the Boston-based ensemble consists of violinists Maura Shawn Scanlin and Kiyoshi Hayashi, violist Emma Powell, and cellist Mina Kim, who are graduates of the New England Conservatory, the Shepherd School of Music, and Yale University.

Rasa String Quartet are winners of the 2022 Associazione Europea Di Musica E Comunicazione International Chamber Music Competition (Italy,) the 2021 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition (ATL,) the 2020 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition (OH,) and the 2022-23 ensemble in residence at Phillips Exeter Academy.

They’ve collaborated with renowned folk musicians like celtic harpist, Maeve Gilchrist, jazz / traditional greek vocalist, Erini Tornesaki, and singer-songwriter, Judy Collins, performed their own programs at various venues and festivals around the country, including the 2023 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, Rockport Music, WGBH, WBUR, and the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, and have taught educational residencies at a variety of institutions like Walnut Hill School for the Arts, UMass Dartmouth, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

By exploring the connection between music and storytelling at the heart of folk traditions, Rasa String Quartet delivers engaging and accessible programs that showcase works from a variety of cultures and highlight unknown composers. They seek to educate their audiences by contextualizing the genres, styles, and composers they present, inviting their listeners to approach both familiar and unfamiliar sounds with an open and curious mind.

In Sanskrit, the term ‘RASA’ refers to the indescribable power of any art form to inspire strong emotions in the reader or listener.

Find out more at www.rasastringquartet.com

Program

Duke Ellington: Take the “A” Train, arr. Paul Chihara 

W.A. Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K546 

I. Adagio

II. Fugue

Florence Price: 5 Folksongs in Counterpoint 

II. Oh My Darlin’ Clementine 

III. Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes 

Wynton Marsalis: At the Octoroon Balls 

VII. Rampart St Row House Rag

Jessie Montgomery: Voodoo Dolls 

Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9 in E flat Major, Op. 117 (26)

I. Moderato con moto

II. Adagio

III. Allegretto

IV. Adagio

V. Allegro

Doors at 1:00 pm

Show at 2:00 pm

Tickets are “Pay What You Can” benefiting Bethel Area Arts & Music.