Tetra String Quartet

Tetra String Quartet

The Tetra String Quartet’s mission is to connect people with chamber music, using relevance and versatility to captivate audiences. As both clinicians and concert artists, Tetra has toured extensively throughout the Southwestern United States, as well as abroad in Brazil, Ecuador, and Germany. Passionate educators, the members of Tetra are faculty associates at Arizona State University, where they teach the course “Chamber Music for Non-Majors”. Recent collaboration with ASU’s Visiting Quartet Residency program has paired Tetra with the acclaimed Brentano, Juilliard, and St. Lawrence String Quartets in creating outreach presentations for hundreds of Arizona high school students. Beyond their home in Phoenix, Tetra has also served as musical ambassadors with Young Audiences of Santa Cruz County by performing for over 2000 students in the U.S./ Mexico border town of Nogales, Arizona. Extremely invested in their own community, Tetra maintains several Phoenix area residencies including Quartet in Residence at Vi at Silverstone, Artists in Residence at Friendship Village, the Artist Residency Program at the MIM (Musical Instrument Museum), Ensemble in Residence at Marcos De Niza High School and outreach artists through Arizona Musicfest. Their strong local presence engages audiences from every corner of the community, whether in classrooms and coffee shops, to correctional facilities and concert halls.

Tetra provides the following performance themes

“Musical Melting Pot”

Presenting a variety of music styles from countries around the world. Students will participate during the performance by identifying clues from the “Melting Pot” that introduce each selection. Members of Tetra will include fun facts before each piece to encourage active listening, and ask questions to promote student reflection. Audience members will learn that although these pieces each have a unique sound, they all share the same basic components of pitch, rhythm and dynamics. This performance will include string instrument family introductions and demonstrations.

“Listen Up!”

Featuring a dynamic selection of works for string quartet, “Listen Up!” is an interactive program that encourages active listening and participation throughout the performance. Audience members will be asked to identify and count a waltz tempo, silently signal when each member of the quartet is playing the melody, brainstorm ideas for possible “characters” in a piece, and perform as the rhythm section to a popular song. Students will hear music from a variety of composers, including Haydn, Vivaldi, Puccini, and Shostakovich. This performance will include string instrument family introductions and demonstrations.

“Creativity and Innovation in Music”

Presenting standard classical works for string quartet, as well as fiddle tunes and popular arrangements. The members of Tetra will explain that many composers start with an established method for writing music, but create their own style and voice as they explore new ideas. Students will hear stories of innovation about each composer on the program, and will be asked to brainstorm their own creative solutions to potential problems. This performance will include string instrument family introductions and demonstrations.

Students will be able to

Identify music from various genres and diverse cultures. (Strand 2, Concept 2, PO1)

Listen attentively while others perform and show appropriate audience behavior for the context and style of the music performed. (Strand 3, Concept 2, PO2)

Describe and discuss the roles and impact music plays in their lives and the lives of others. (Strand 2, Concept 3, PO1)

Classify and identify musical instruments and instrument families. (Strand 3, Concept 1, PO2)