Building Community Through Music: A String Quartet’s Perspective

Join the Newport String Quartet for a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the collaborative world of chamber music. The Quartet will also share how these practices have informed their distinctive approach to building community through music.

 Through musical examples performed live by the Quartet, witness the complex non-verbal communication of ensemble playing. While a symphony orchestra follows a conductor, the musicians in a string quartet must rely on each other. At any given moment, each player has a distinct role to play and these roles evolve constantly. As a micro-community engaged in a shared artistic goal, a string quartet becomes a powerful metaphor for connection and interdependence.

 By illuminating the quartet’s approach to collaboration, the seminar will explore how the values of access and inclusion radiate throughout its approach to community building. From mentoring 40 students in the skills of chamber music, to performances in traditional and non-traditional spaces throughout Newport, this seminar explores how the Quartet is engaged in a dynamic conversation with the community itself and considers the importance of these experiences in a deeply divided world.

 As artists-in-residence at the Newport String Project, the Newport String Quartet presents a dynamic concert series each season and provides free lessons each week to 40 students in violin, viola, and cello. Each of the Quartet’s concerts features works by celebrated composers alongside masterworks by underrepresented composers.

Ealaín McMullin is a violinist and co-founder of the Newport String Project whose work blends chamber music, education, and community engagement, with roots in Ireland and Apple Hill’s chamber music tradition.

Kenneth Trotter is a violinist known for his work in chamber music, contemporary performance, and community-focused projects, with collaborations spanning classical, folk, and popular music.

Florrie Marshall is a violist, educator, and arts leader, founder of Sound Bridges International Company, and a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Yale School of Music.

Chelsea Bernstein is a cellist specializing in modern and historical performance who performs widely with leading chamber and early music ensembles and teaches at Salve Regina University and St. George’s School.

Lenny Matczynski is the former Director of Apple Hill (2007–2022) and now works as a consultant and mentor to arts organizations. A concert violist and longtime educator, he has taught at leading music institutions and serves as a trustee for several cultural organizations. He received New Hampshire’s 2021 Ewing Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.