The Catalyst Quartet will showcase folk elements in works of Ives, Smetana, Golijov, and Goddard, in a concert Thursday, presented by the Fontana summer festival.
Violinist Karla Donehew-Perez says one of the works is based on Inuit throat-singing, while others employ melodies from American, Jewish, and Czech traditions. The quartet designed the program as a tribute the American folk singer Pete Seeger.
The Catalyst Quartet recently released an album which pairs Glenn Gould's String Quartet, Op 1 and Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations. According to Karla Donehew-Perez, the musicians divided the variations between themselves for arranging, then collaborated as a group to create the final arrangements. She also explains the Catalyst Quartet's connection to the Sphinx Organization, which was founded in Detroit, Michigan to encourage diversity in classical music.
The Catalyst Quartet performs at the Kalamazoo Nature Center at 7:30 pm on Thursday.
