A gig

The gig-worthy quartet got a gig. Not just an invitation to provide a 20-minute volunteer set, but a 2-hour job playing in the garden of a small independent gallery during the opening reception of a new exhibition. They were joined for the affair by a wonderful oboe player, a teen who spends part of each summer in our community. They played a few quintet numbers, including some arrangements of Handel's Water Music that sounded terrific with the oboe. And the quartet rifled through their old repertoire and tried a few new pieces, altogether pulling together enough repertoire that they had an hour-long set. Who'd have thought? This quartet formed just over two years ago and at first it took them months of rehearsing to pull together a mere 11 minutes of music. Now they can add 30 minutes of gig repertoire in the space of a couple of weeks.

They played outdoors on a balmy night that was the perfect temperature. The opening was well-attended, and people gravitated to the performance space in the garden at least as much as the gallery space indoors. The audience was very appreciative, most of them sitting, listening attentively and applauding after each number -- not what you'd normally expect when providing background ambiance music, but very nice for these guys. And the pot of money they got to split at the end of the evening was lovely for them too!