Events
“The Parkers” Encore
The Parker String Quartet, hailed by the New York Times as "something extraordinary" and by the Boston Globe for their "fiercely committed performances," returns to St. John's College. The Parkers—as they are affectionately called by their devoted listeners—have distinguished themselves as one of the preeminent ensembles of their generation. Appearing at St. John's for the fourth year in a row, they are established audience favorites.
Last year, in addition to their performance in the St. John's Concert Series, the quartet met with students during sophomore music tutorials and gave an open rehearsal for them in the Francis Scott Key Auditorium. "It was a memorable afternoon," recalls Eric Stoltzfus, music librarian and tutor on the Annapolis campus. During lunch, the Parkers gathered with St. John's sophomores, introduced their instrumental music, and played selections from their concert program. "Something wonderful happened," says Stoltzfus. "One of the students, Brian Warczinsky, said, 'You played for us, now we want to sing with you.' He handed them the string parts for Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus."
"The Parkers were great sports—they hadn't seen this before. I conducted it, they started playing, and all the sophomores were singing." Normally Stoltzfus then would head to the classroom for sophomore music, but he says, "We stayed in the courtyard and just sang. There was no talking—just music."
At St. John's, the freshman chorus and sophomore music tutorial put each student in the roles of performer, composer, and reader of music; they become better listeners of music. But students are not the only ones who benefit from the rich musical resources the college offers. Each year, Stoltzfus plans concerts and performances that expose St. John's students and the wider Annapolis community to both amateur and worldclass musicians. "The musicians that come to campus love performing for our students because they are an appreciative audience," he says, "used to listening in a serious way."
The Parker String Quartet will perform on Friday, October 21 at 8:15 p.m.