Darien Public Schools Music Department To Host Special Concert

DARIEN, CT — The Darien Public Schools Music Department will host the Dalí Quartet for a special educational concert on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 9:30 a.m., in the Darien High School auditorium. About 300 students from the school district's third through fifth grade strings program are expected to attend.

Students will be introduced to the rich and varied world of Latin dances. The quartet will demonstrate the parallels and juxtaposition between Western classical music tropes and Argentine tangos, Cuban boleros, Caribbean rambas, Venezuelan Joropos, and others, while encouraging movement as a means of internalizing rhythmic patterns.

DPS Director of Music Colleen Thompson told Patch the concert will be very beneficial for students.

"This will be really valuable for them. This age group is just starting up their strings playing, and so it's really important for them to see high level string players," Thompson said. "I think it's a unique experience for string students to hear Latin American music. Oftentimes our string students are exposed to just Western classical music. This is a great opportunity for them to experience music from this culture."

The concert is being made possible by the DPS Music Department's partnership with Orchestra Lumos in Stamford, which is offering its Artist in the Community residency program.

"My vision for the Orchestra's education and community engagement work is to increase access and opportunity for music making for all of our residents. The Dalí String Quartet is a dynamic and innovative group of musicians whose work felt like an organic partnership," said Orchestra Lumos' Director of Education and Community Engagement Nicholas Gonzalez in a news release.

"Together, we are going to serve a variety of audiences and share the joy of music with so many youths in our amazing county. We are so thrilled to welcome them as our inaugural 'Artists in the Community' and can't wait to share the impact with all of you," Gonzalez added.

Trained by world-renowned artists, members of the Dalí Quartet are from Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the US, and have studied at esteemed institutions such as the Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University Bloomington, the New England Conservatory, Juilliard and the Simón Bolivar Conservatory in Caracas, Venezuela.

The quartet is based in Philadelphia, Pa. The Dalí Quartet members are violinists Ari Isaacman-Beck and Carlos Rubio, violist Adriana Linares, and cellist Jesús Morales.

Each year, the DPS Music Department focuses on a different aspect of music. This year, the department is gearing programs towards the strings.

On April 4, DPS will host an educational workshop and concert for grades 3-12 with Mark Wood titled "Electrify Your Symphony." Wood is a musician and leader in the music education field.

A workshop will take place with students doing the day, with a free school and community concert featuring electric instruments and rock arrangements for strings at night, Thompson said.

More information on the concert will be released in the coming weeks.