String Ensemble wows crowd in Boyd

On Tuesday, a small crowd of friends and family gathered in Boyd Recital Hall to hear this semester’s string ensemble perform the songs they have been perfecting for the past two months. The concert was presented by Rowan’s Department of Music and showcased the talents of 23 young and extremely gifted musicians.

The string ensemble played a total of four songs, three of which were separated into several different pieces.

“This concert is the first and last of the semester,” said Set Rodriguez, a senior music major and the ensemble’s star violinist. “We have been rehearsing since the end of January and after this show, we are done.”

The string ensemble class is only worth one credit to these students, but it is a requirement.

“We’ve been practicing for two and a half months, but it feels like we’ve only had four rehearsals,” said Johnell Lawrence, a junior music major. “The best part of the class is the professor [George Atanasiu], he’s amazing.”

Atanasiu is a Romanian-born cellist who has played with many major orchestras throughout the world. His influence is clear over his students, especially after the phenomenal performance they put on that evening.

If Lawrence is right, four rehearsals was all the practice the ensemble needed. The evening began with their rendition of Arthur Foote’s “Irish Folk Song” and it was immediately evident that this group of students worked wonderfully together.

During G.F. Handel’s “Concerto Grosso,” Rodriguez sat in first chair for the violinists and played multiple solos throughout the song, which was divided into five pieces. Violinist Ferenc Lakatos and cellist Brian Nicholls also played solos as well, all of which were beautifully executed.

Although the audience was small, each of the songs was received very well with major applause and hollers from all over the hall. The rendition of Paul Hindemith’s “Eight Pieces for String Orchestra” was long, but it showcased talent from all areas of the ensemble.

The ensemble finished with Edvard Grieg’s “Holdberg Suite for String Orchestra.” Rodriguez stole the show again by playing another perfect solo in one of the last moments of the song.

A one-credit class may be a pain for musicians as talented as the string ensemble, but that didn’t stop them from putting on an excellent performance. At the end of the evening, audience members filed out to congratulate the students on a job well done.