After a week in which we played 15 concerts and appeared on TV once, I think I can resoundingly call geurilla chamber music a success. We have the day off tomorrow to rest and then 3 more concerts on Monday. We played today at Lake Louise with the lake and mountains as a back drop. It is fantastic who stops by to listen. You get everyone from the small children enamored with Sam's viola to the bus drivers who have driven the tourists up. In every place we played we found people really wanted to take 15 minutes to an hour out of there day to sit and listen to string quartet playing.

It certainly reaffirms my belief not only in classical music but also in the string quartet literature. We played Beethoven 59/3, Brahms c-minor, Mozart "dissonance", Wolf Italian Serenade, Zorn Cat 'o nine tails, and Bartok 4. These are serious works in the string quartet canon. But placed in a situation where the audience felt comfortable to walk around, talk a little, take pictures, listen... these works were not daunting to listen to. I really believe most of the people listening to these concerts would not have gone to a string quartet recital.

It has been amazing this past week because you realize you just need to bring 4 chairs, 4 stands, and a casual attitude to get people really excited about music. It is certainly a different experience than performing a huge recital in a concert hall, but I would venture to say it is just as rewarding. One of the beauties of music is the ability to affect and influence peoples' lives. I think we definitely accomplished that this week.