By Mary Barber, Jackson Citizen Patroit, Staff Writer
Thursday, September 9, 2004
 

The four musicians in ARCTUS!, which will open the chamber music series at the Jackson Symphony Orchestra Hall this weekend, each have had principal roles in the local orchestra.

I-Fu Wang and Xie-Min, violin, and Jesus Alfonzo, viola, each have been concertmaster at one time or another. David Garner has been the principal cellist in the orchestra. Only Xie-Min remains with the JSO. Wang teaches at Michigan State University, where the four met.

They formed the group about a month ago, in hopes of being able to tour Xie-Min's native China or Garner's native New Zealand.

"It's funny -- they'll play Dvorak's 'American Quartet,' but none of them are (American)," said Stephen Osmond, JSO conductor and music director. Alfonzo is from Venezuela, and Wang is from Taiwan.

Osmond said the chamber music series doesn't usually get started this early in the season, but he didn't want to pass on the chance to present this group before Garner leaves for New Zealand on Sept. 19. It will be a "lively" concert, Osmond said.

"They all have a real joy of music-making," Osmond said. "It's fresh. ! A lot of people get jaded, but not these guys. And they have great senses of humor."

Besides the Dvorak piece, ARCTUS! will perform Mozart's "Quartet No. 19 in C" and Debussy's "String Quartet in G Minor."

Garner said they chose these pieces because "they're equally challenging for everyone."

The four have known each other for five years, Garner said, but they hadn't played together as a quartet until this summer.

"It's so interesting for string players to play with other string players," he said. "You find common ground."

This is the fifth season for the chamber music series, which is a perk both for musicians and audiences, Osmond said.

"Musicians love to play chamber music," he said. "The repertoire is some of the best.

"And for the audience ! it's the intimacy of the whole thing. You can really hear the parts and see what they're doing. ! You're a lot more involved," he said.

Garner said he expects this concert, only the second for ARCTUS!, to be a wonderful experience, even though he'll be departing a week later.

"We get along really well," he said. "It's never hard to rehearse. It's going to be fun."

-- Reach reporter Mary Barber at 768-4971 or mbarber@citpat.com.