USCA’s Etherredge Center hosts the Turtle Island Quartet

Mar 11

Mar 11 USCA’s Etherredge Center hosts the Turtle Island Quartet

On Thursday February 28th , the Etherredge Center hosted the Turtle Island Quartet as a part of the Cultural Series. The theme for their performance was Bird’s Eye View; The Legend of Charlie Parker.

According to the program, The Turtle Island Quartet is a two-time Grammy award winning group started in 1985 and “has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings.”

Their passion for music was evident in each musician’s performance and also in the way that they would play back in forth in musical duals. The ability to create fun moments in a structured set was applauded by the audience.

Mark St. John, House Manager of the Etherredge Center, stated that the Turtle Island Quartet stood out not just for their accomplishments, but also because the group “pioneered their way into the string jazz industry,” and that they are not a typical string quartet.

When asked why music should be valued as apart of education, cellist Michael Parson stated that art and music offered youth, “creativity and imagination” and these things contributed to the “individuality” of a person.

One thing that David Balakrishnan suggests to aspiring musicians is to “be in a community of like-minded people” that can offer encouragement on one’s journey, just as the members of the quartet are for each other.

Though the Turtle Island Quartet consists of four people with different backgrounds, the ability to create and innovate through music brings them together and pushes them to share it with the word.