AUSTIN, Texas – When the Cavani String Quartet returns to the University of Texas campus this month, Austin-area chamber music lovers are in for a treat. And so are several area schools, health care facilities and University students.
This highly acclaimed musical ensemble of four young women offers not only superb renditions of Mozart, Haydn, Dvorak, Beethoven, Ravel and Shostakovich, they promote the joy and understanding of music and the spirit required to make it.
Through a series of educational and outreach programs in a variety of settings, the Cleveland-based Cavanis introduce students of all ages and backgrounds to the value of chamber music as an ideal means to communicate both the joy of music making and the inherent value of teamwork.
With an infectious passion for music, the Cavani Quartet will give “informances” to students at several Austin schools and to students in the UT String Project. These informances, or informal concerts tailored to specific age groups, present selections of traditional quartet repertoire with commentary from the Cavanis and have become the backbone of their commitment to bring younger audiences to chamber music.
In Cavani violinist Annie Fullard’s words “We try to communicate with people of all ages, through music and words, from novices to professionals, which means being open and accessible to everyone in the schools, the hospital and in the concert halls.”
The quartet will demonstrate their teaching skills to UT music education students at an informance for local third-graders, as well as conduct master classes for UT music performance students and perform for a transitional care facility at an Austin hospital.
The Cavani String Quartet’s unique talents and superb ensemble performance have brought them into the international spotlight over the past decade. The recipient of many awards and prizes, including the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1989, the quartet appears regularly on major concert series and festivals throughout North America and Europe.
They perform a broad range of repertoire and are actively engaged in commissioning new works. They have been quartet-in-residence at The Cleveland Institute of Music since 1988.
