Aroha String Quartet presents “Light & Dark”

The well-known Wellington-based Aroha String Quartet will explore a wide range of moods and sound worlds in their dynamic “Light & Dark” concert to be performed at The Piano, 156 Armagh St, Christchurch, at 7.30pm on Tuesday, 12th June.

The 2nd violinist of the Aroha Quartet, Ursula Evans, grew up in Christchurch and received her early musical education there. She said:”Our Light and Dark programme takes the audience on a journey from light, to dark and back again. We love how these 3 pieces show the power of music to represent and evoke human emotions”.

Beethoven’s sparkling and energetic String Trio No.3 is followed by the more sardonic String Quartet No.11 by Shostakovich. Any dark clouds are swept away by the final work, Dvorak’s gorgeous, much-loved “American” Quartet Op 96.

Acclaimed as demonstrating “accomplished brilliance, soulfulness and sublime intensity in perfect balance and tonal unity” (The Dominion Post), the Aroha String Quartet is firmly established as one of New Zealand’s finest chamber music ensembles. Founded in 2004, this versatile Wellington-based quartet is known for its passionate musicality, impressive technique, and multicultural innovation.

This concert is part of a thirteen-concert series the Aroha Quartet is performing around New Zealand in 2018.

For more information, phone Haihong Liu, 021-679 691 or Robert Ibell, 022-694 0880, e-mail contact@arohaquartet.co.nz or visit www.arohaquartet.co.nz

Biographical notes
Acclaimed as demonstrating “accomplished brilliance, soulfulness and sublime intensity in perfect balance and tonal unity” (The Dominion Post), the Aroha String Quartet is firmly established as one of New Zealand’s finest chamber music ensembles. Founded in 2004, this versatile Wellington-based quartet is known for its passionate musicality, impressive technique, and multicultural innovation. Haihong Liu and Zhongxian Jin are original members of the Aroha Quartet. Robert Ibell joined the group in 2009 and Ursula Evans in 2017.
The Aroha Quartet is committed to presenting string quartet works from western classical and avant-garde repertoire to traditional Chinese folk music, as well as works for larger forces through collaborations with numerous high-profile musicians.
The Aroha Quartet performs regularly around NZ in centres from the Deep South to the Far North. In 2014 they performed five concerts as part of Chamber Music New Zealand’s Kaleidoscope series. Overseas trips have seen them participate in the prestigious International Summer Academy in Austria in 2010, give concerts and masterclasses in China in 2010 and 2013, and perform at the Huntington Music Festival in Australia in 2011. The Aroha Quartet runs the annual ASQ International Music Academy, a week-long chamber music course. The fourth ASQ Academy will take place in Wellington in July 2018.
The Quartet’s first ASQ International Academy in Asia took place in Zhongshan, China, in late January 2018.