Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC)

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BISQC Blog:

Calliope at the Museum

Posted by The Calliope Quartet
Sunday, 29 August 2010

BISQC Quartets are starting to arrive! It’s great to start meeting new people and to see old friends. We wish all of you a great week and can’t wait to hear everyone play!

Yesterday was a more relaxed day in Calliope Land. We had two performances: one outside the Banff Park Museum, and the other in the Fox Hotel, both in downtown Banff. Unlike the day before , the weather was sunny and beautiful, which was perfect for the girls but left the boys baking underneath their suits. It’s funny how the temperature is never perfect for the whole quartet. We were fortunate to play near a busy intersection on Banff Ave and with several park benches nearby. By the end we had a large, enthusiastic audience listening to us. It is always such a pleasure to connect with audience members. Today Cynthia was happy to meet two fellow Southerners from Birmingham, Alabama. When they heard that a Texan girl went to school in Cleveland, the lady exclaimed, “Bless your heart, it’s so cold up there!” It was nice to feel her sympathy!

Calliope Quartet at the Park Museum

The Parks Museum has a huge taxidermy collection animals native to Alberta. After we played, we we took a few minutes to go into the museum and discover our wild side! We were delighted to find the calliope hummingbird, the smallest known Canadian bird.

Calliope Quartet at the Fox Hotel

After some time to relax and grab a coffee, we piled into the red minivan once more and made our way to the Fox Hotel. Though the crowd was small, the excitement of the family with two young daughters and Sophia’s folks was enough to make for an energized performance.

We met some quartets over a leisurely dinner at Vistas, which, much to Sophia’s delight, has been playing some hoppin’ beats lately. Cynthia, meanwhile, has been enjoying Vistas’ beets on her salad.

Our evening was taken up by rehearsing the last two movements of Haydn Op. 76/5 that we will play in Rob Kapilow’s “What Makes It Great?” lecture on Monday morning. If you’re in Banff, be sure the check it out. We’re really excited to be a part of it!

Tomorrow will be another great day! Check back soon!

Your Callio-Posse

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