Jazz String Quartet to play recital series at Renaissance Center

Release Date: 9/26/2002. Expired: 10/7/2002

The Belmont Jazz String Quartet, formed in 1998 by director Martin Norgaard, plays pieces that combine the classical tradition with concepts from the history of jazz and other popular styles. It will perform at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, as part of The Renaissance Center’s free Recitals in the Rotunda series.

The group, whose repertoire includes selections from the recordings of the Turtle Island String Quartet, was named “Distinguished Ensemble” at the University of Louisville Jazz Week 2000 and has performed at The Tennessee Music Educators Association 2001 Conference in Nashville, the International Association of Jazz Educators’ 2001 conference in New York and the MENC conference in Nashville 2002.

The quartet works regularly with Tracy Silverman and Darol Anger, both former members of the Turtle Island String Quartet.

The Belmont Jazz String Quartet performs on campus each semester in addition to playing for off-campus events. The group consists of Anne Rudolph, violin, Penny Jones, violin, Ashley Fisher, viola, and Paul Nelson, cello.

“A successful performance requires strong coordinated intonation, rhythm and phrasing resulting in a convincing interpretation of each work,” said Norgaard. “Both in the spirit of jazz and since few recorded examples exist of the repertoire of the JSQ, we leave a great deal of room for personal interpretations. This requires an unusually strong degree of listening and musicianship as each member of the ensemble decides on the right interpretation for each part, both consciously and unconsciously. In addition, the JSQ provides opportunities for individual players to improvise within the framework of each piece. The integration of each member into the ensemble is the ultimate goal.”

The program at The Renaissance Center Oct. 7 will include selections by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Tower of Power and others.

Other jazz string groups at Belmont University include the newly formed Belmont Jazz String Septet that combines a string quartet with a traditional rhythm section of piano, bass and drums. The JSS plays traditional septet arrangements and performs amplified. The group was awarded the highest honor at the University of Louisville Jazz Festival 2002, beating the other jazz combos and big bands for a spot on the evening concert.

The author of the groundbreaking method book Jazz Fiddle Wizard and several other books for Mel Bay Publications, Norgaard teaches jazz and commercial strings at Belmont University and Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He performs in Nashville and throughout the Midwest with his own jazz trio and in the acoustic fusion band Acoustic Room.

His newest publications are Jazz Fiddle Wizard Junior, Jazz Viola Wizard Junior and Jazz Cello Wizard Junior (Mel Bay, 2002), designed for teaching improvisation to beginning and intermediate string students. Norgaard holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz performance from William Paterson University and Queens College in New York, where he studied with Rufus Reid, Hal Galper, Jimmy Heath, and others.

Norgaard is a frequent clinician at state and national conventions of ASTA, TMEA, IMEA, MENC, and IAJE and has taught at summer workshops such as the IAJE Teacher Training Institute, Suzuki institutes, and the Augusta Heritage Festival.

For more information on the Recitals in the Rotunda series, call The Renaissance Center at (615)740-5545. The Renaissance Center is an arts and technology education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the Events - Concerts and Recitals page for more about musical performances.

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