This week, the Cerus Quartet joins Interlochen Public Radio’s Sound Garden Project as the newest ensemble in residence.
It's their first year with the Sound Garden Project, and their pop-up concerts are appearing everywhere: gas stations, campgrounds, coffee shops and other unexpected places across northern Michigan.
It's a stark contrast to their concert hall experiences, which includes recent wins at the Fischoff Competition and the Concert Artists Guild.
The Cerus Quartet visited Studio A to discuss their residency and what they've learned so far about interacting with audiences.
They were interested in participating because friends and colleagues of theirs have also been Sound Garden Project ensembles in residence and encouraged them to apply.
"We're friends with the Fivemind Reeds quintet and the Blue Quartet," Laura Ramsay said. "They had a super positive experience, and I think we wanted to dive into the same kind of performance experience with [Artistic Director] Matt Schlomer by playing music in a different place other than the concert hall."
So far, their favorite experience in the Sound Garden Project happened at Interlochen State Park.
"We were playing for a family that had gone camping and all brought their dogs," Samuel Dishon said. "We started performing, and one of the dogs started singing along with us."
Here are some of the IPR Sound Garden events you can attend this week:
- Tuesday, June 24 at 1 PM — In concert at WUWU Community Radio, Elberta (details)
- Wednesday, June 25 at 1 PM — Pop-up concert, downtown Frankfort
- Thursday, June 26 at 7 PM — Full concert, Oliver Art Center (reserve free tickets here)
Music performed in Studio A:
Karalyn Schubring, Ambivert: I. Extrovert
Edvard Grieg, Holberg Suite, II. Sarabande
This edition of Studio A was engineered by Jack Conners. Matthew Schlomer is the Sound Garden Project’s artistic director. We had additional support from Alexandra Herryman and Scott Clemens.
