UK VIDA comes to Castleton Soundings
For a small, rural college, Castleton offers its students many unique cultural opportunities. One such opportunity came on Jan. 30 when the VIDA guitar quartet performed.
Just hearing their name, they may not sound very special. Four people playing guitars, big deal, right? But this group from the UK is way more than that. They don’t play their guitars traditionally and instead almost exclusively pluck the strings rather than strum while occasionally using props, like sponges, to change the sound.
The group got its start in 2007 and toured mostly around Europe until 2011 when they made their U.S. debut. This quartet, consisting of three men and one woman; travel around the world performing their transpositions of famous compositions.
Their final piece of the concert, and perhaps most recognizable was the Carmen Suite. Students and community members who attended the show seemed very impressed by the way that the musicians were able to express their love of music through their performance while exposing the audience to a new kind of sound.
Another truly incredible concert was performed by David Kaplan and Benjamin Elton Capps, two members of the Burlington Ensemble. With Kaplan on piano and Capps on cello, the duo entertained a small audience on Feb. 6 with compositions by Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms.
As the performers admitted, the pieces they played were quite long and challenging to endure for both the musicians and the audience. While long in length, it was a very passionate and well-rehearsed performance. You could see and hear the connection between the two instruments and the pieces they played evoked a plethora of emotions.
It’s a different experience hearing classical music live versus on a recording and students who attended were fortunate to hear such quality music right on here on campus for free.
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