Quartet at the Café – Streaming
This concert was recorded and is available to stream December 1-15.
In November, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra presented a one-of-a kind collaboration between three disciplines: classical music, spoken word poetry and visual art. The program featured visual art by muralist Melina Scotte, original spoken word and page poetry by Elgin’s esteemed Poet Laureate Chasity Gunn, and a string quartet made up of ESO string principals.
Sorry, tickets to this experience are no longer available.
At the center of the evening was a unique reimagining of Antonin Dvorak’s famed “American” string quartet. The work was written while the composer was living in the United States and reflects his attempt to show fellow composers how to find a uniquely American sound. The resulting string quartet incorporated folk music, African American spiritual and Indigenous song, as well as the sounds of nature that surrounded him at the Spillville, Iowa retreat where the work was written. The movements, as they were performed on this program, were punctuated by original poetry by Ms. Gunn, composed specifically for this evening, and offered a chance to reflect on an America of 1893 and the America we live in today.
CONCERT PROGRAM
Strum – Jessie Montgomery
String Quartet
Original Spoken Word Poetry with Cello Improvisation
Ms. Gunn
Mr. Agnew
American String Quartet – Antonín Dvořák
Featuring original poetry by Chasity Gunn
Ms. Gunn
String Quartet
TICKET INFORMATION
Your donation to support the Elgin Symphony Orchestra is greatly appreciated.
This event will be available to stream December 1-15.
NOTEworthy Concert Facts
The Players
Chasity Gunn, poet
Principal String Players of the Elgin Symphony
Isabella Lippi, violin
Eleanor Bartsch, violin
Amanda Grimm, viola
Matt Agnew, cello
Thank You to Our Partners
Chasity Gunn, poet
Chasity Gunn is an English professor at Elgin Community College and author of How to Create a World. Gunn serves as the inaugural Poet Laureate for the city of Elgin. She has been featured in the Elgin Fringe Fest and published in Bitterzoet Magazine. She is working on a forthcoming poetry collection to be released in 2021. Before becoming a full-time college instructor, Gunn worked as a newspaper reporter covering the educational system. She is a graduate of Belmont University and earned her Master of Fine Arts from Hamline University.
For more information, visit chasitywrites.com or her Facebook page.
