Yo-Yo Ma

I had the amazing opportunity to hear this fantastic cellist when he was is St Louis. It is rather funny how I got to go. Read as I tell you my tale of fortune.

So, I have cello class on Fridays and this Friday our instructor said that whoever played their scales the best would get a prize. OK, I am thinking that the prize is going to be some chocolate so I am motivated because chocolate is amazing. So everyone plays their scales individually and Liz Oar, another fantastic cellist, and I were picked as the people who played them the best. So our instructor goes to his bag and pulls out a envelope and says to us, I have two tickets to Yo Yo Mas concert this weekend and you two get the tickets. As soon as he said that, I went crazy. Now, you have to understand, I looked at tickets in August and they were all sold out so I was really disappointed that i could not go. When I found out that I was going, and with another cellist, I was on cloud nine the rest of the day. So the rest of the day, Liz and I were planning on how we are going to tell everyone else. We finally decide to just go ahead and tell them straight on. Everyone was completely speechless. It was really funny. The look on everyone's faces was priceless. It was really funny because Benjamin thought that we were joking. He did not believe us until we showed him our tickets. What can one say though, he is a violist.
At the concert, their was not a empty seat in the house. There was this excitement in the air that was unbelievable. The conductor introduced Yo Yo Ma and the house went crazy. Everyone was clapping for a full 5 minuets, on their feet. After everyone sat down he played one of the most memorable concerts in the history of music. It was completely incredible! He does so many strange things with his posture and yet produces the most amazing sound one could every hear on a cello. Throughout the concert, Liz and I would glance at each other and notice that at times we would have our mouths open wide. It was really that kind of an experience. It was truly a once in a lifetime concert. What made it special for me though, was hearing it with another cellist. There is something about hearing a professional cellist and being able to share your thoughts with someone who plays the same instrument that makes everything seem better. Hearing Yo Yo Ma was a amazing thing, and hearing it with another cellist made the concert perfect.It was a night that I know I will never forget.

Together at Last!!

I can't begin to tell you how glad we are to have the family back together. After a separation of nearly 3 months, we are ecstatic to see each other again. We went out to dinner the first night they got here and we spent the whole time catching each other up on the latest developments.

Life here in Missouri has been pretty amazing so far. College has been going really well and we are really enjoying working with the Arriana String Quartet. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us as the semester goes by.

Blessings

Daniel

Sorry for the lack of posts! We've been super busy here at school. One of us will give you more of an update in the next week or so.

Until then!

Brandon

Pictures from Britt

Thank you all for your prayers at while we were at Britt. We all had an amazing time and learned a lot. Enjoy some of the pictures that were taken at camp.

One of our rehearsals

Benjamin putting his instrument down to demonstrate something for us.

Ash and I trying to listen to him, but not really being successful :)

Daniel playing in a masterclass.

We are currently working our way across the country to St. Louis, please pray for safety on the road for us. Thanks!

Brandon

Hey everyone!

Were here in Ashland at the Britt String Quartet camp! We're really excited to be working with the Arianna String Quartet. They're an amazing group, and we look forward to our coachings with them. Pictures will be following shortly.

Brandon

I apologize for the total lack of posts during this past month. To tell you the truth, things have been extremely crazy around here. As our move date moves closer and closer, the more crazy it gets. To prove my point, here are some pictures:

Stuff being packed in the schoolroom

One of our storage areas

Another storage area.

On another note, we received in the mail music for the camp that we're going to at the end of the month. It's called the Britt String quartet academy, and you can find out more about it here.

The two pieces that we were assigned are: Tchaikovsky String Quartet no. 1, and Haydn Op. 20 no. 6. These pieces are fairly challenging for us in more ways than one. But we're looking forward to performing these pieces at the camp concert in August!

Hope this will satisfy you until next time.

Brandon

Wanted to let y'all know about our next concert appearance:

Oregon Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra in collaboration with the Lewis and Clark College Music Department Present:

"With Strings Attached"

Sunday, June 21st, 1:00 pm

Lewis and Clark College

Evans Auditorium

0615 SW Palatine Hill Road

Portland, OR

An all-string concert!

Program includes:

Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams,

Serenade for Strings by Antonin Dvorak,

Introduction and Allegro by Edward Elgar (featuring the Dickson String Quartet),

Round for String Orchestra by David Diamond

Should be an exciting night for all!!!

Sad Story....

Read Benjamin's story about the last concert that we did.... All I'm going to say is: typical violist.

Brandon

More Videos on Facebook!

Hey everyone!

Check out our facebook page! Lots of videos on there, and pictures will be coming!

Click Here to see our Facebook page

Brandon

Mendelssohn Octet!

4th Movement of the Mendelssohn Octet

Pictures from the Concert

More pictures to follow as well as some video....

 

Practicing the Mendelssohn F minor...

Practicing the Mendelssohn Octet...

"RISINGS" CONCERT ADDRESS CHANGE

Risings Concert Address Change!!!

Confirmed Location:

Sunnyside Adventist Church

10501 SE Market St.

Portland Oregon

(503) 252-8080

Please call for any additional information:

360 687 8619 or 360 713 8971

Get Directions Here

Free "Risings" Concert

Hey everyone! You dont want to miss the Dickson String Quartets last concert in Portland! The concert is on Wednesday, May 20th, at Sunnyside Adventist Church 10501 SE Market St. Portland OR, at 7PM. We would love to see you there. 

We will be playing two Mendelssohn  quartets that we have been working on just for this concert. We are also privileged to be playing Mendelssohns octet with members of the Oregon Symphony. Dvoraks viola quintet is also on our program. 

Like I said before, we would love to see you there! Its going to be an exciting night!