If you’ve been in northern Michigan this summer, chances are you have come across the Kodak Quartet.
They’ve performed at beaches, playgrounds and public parks in Glen Arbor in IPR's Sound Garden Project, and they were featured earlier this month during IPR's Classical Happy Hour series at the Little Fleet.
"Our most memorable concert so far was the pontoon concert in Glen Arbor," Kodak's Blake Kitayama said. "We were on one pontoon, another pontoon was near us listening, and people had pulled off the road to listen to us play."
They also serve as string quartet fellows at Interlochen Arts Camp, where they teach individual private lessons and coach high school and intermediate chamber music ensembles.
The musicians of Kodak coach the high school musicians in the advanced string quartet program at Interlochen.
"These are students who have taken an extra audition in addition to their orchestra audition," said Kodak's Daniel Spink. "They wanted to take an extra step and play chamber music."
These students spend an hour every day working with the Kodak musicians on everything from practice techniques to handling performance anxiety.
The keys to overcoming performance anxiety, Spink and Kitayama said, are to focus on the music and not worry about being judged by the audience.
"People are there because they want to hear you play," Spink explained. "You'll still get nervous because you care about the music, but it will feel like a friendlier environment."
The quartet members visited Studio A to give a preview of a few more upcoming recitals in the region this summer, including one on Interlochen's campus and another at the Music House Museum.
The Kodak Quartet presents their String Quartet Fellows recital at Interlochen on Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dendrinos Chapel.
They'll wrap up their summer in the region with another recital on Saturday, August 2 at the Music House Museum in Williamsburg.
The members of the Kodak Quartet are Edgar Donati (violin), Martin Noh (violin), Daniel Spink (viola) and Blake Kitayama (cello).
Music performed in Studio A
Johannes Brahms, String Quartet no. 2 in A minor: I. Allegro non troppo
Joseph Haydn, String Quartet in D major, op. 20 no. 4: IV. Presto scherzando
This edition of Studio A was engineered by Jack Conners.
Digital production support provided by Scott Clemens and Gracie Westergaard.
