The Boston String Quartet at Sanctuary Hall

On Saturday March 31st we went to see the performance of the Boston String Quartet at Sanctuary Hall, otherwise known as the East Weymouth Congregational Church. It was a treat for me to celebrate my birthday which was on Sunday. I’ll admit to being prejudiced in favor of the East Weymouth Congregational Church because I am an active member of the congregation but the truth is that the church is an amazing place to see a concert. The sanctuary is an intimate space with great sight lines and fantastic acoustics. Musicians love to perform there because they sound their best. The ticket prices were another reason why this was a great show to see. Adult tickets were only $10 each and a family ticket was $20 so Jennifer and I brought Maura for free. Home baked goodies were available before the show and at intermission for a pay-what-you-can donation.

The Boston String Quartet gave a great show. They played with energy and style and it was clear that they enjoyed what they were doing. Most of the pieces that they played were from their most recent CD which was recorded in the sanctuary at East Weymouth Congregational. The concert this year was offered as payment for those recording sessions. Most of the pieces that were played were arrangements of pop songs or folk songs from around the world, all arranged by members of the quartet. It was a very eclectic mix that ranged from Michael Jackson to Taiwanese folk songs and included Santana and the Charlie Daniels Band.

You might expect that pop songs played by a string quartet might sound like something you would expect to hear on an elevator but nothing could be further from the truth. All of the pieces were interesting and exciting to listen to. The range of sounds that the Boston String Quartet produced from their instruments was astounding and included many that I wouldn’t expect to hear from stringed instruments. Maura enjoyed the music as much as I did and wanted the CD. We purchased the latest one plus an the earlier one and we’ve enjoyed listening to both of them.

The Boston String Quartet is active in supporting music education and frequently travels around the country working with high school students. A portion of the CD sales goes to support these activities. They will also be in concert at Jordan Hall on April 15 to benefit music education. They will perform with the Grammy winning Turtle Island Quartet, Jeanette Olson from Glee!, the Xibus World Orchestra (composed of students from around the country) and other special guests.