New Group Achieves Harmony, Seeks Identity

The classical music scene at Harvard just got a little easier on the ear: Harvard students have founded an as-yet unnamed chamber music group featuring some of Harvard's best musicians. The 13-member group, which had its premiere performance last month, will have a quartet of its members performing later today for a Harvard Museum art break, and the group hopes to hold larger concerts on campus next semester.

Jennifer G. Lee '01, an accomplished cellist, was inspired to found the chamber music group while working at a music management company this summer.

"I was thinking 'Wouldn't it be cool if I started my own thing, managed it, saw how it worked, and of course played in it as well,'" she said.

The group took shape in early October as Lee approached friends and musical acquaintances about joining the group.

"It started very casually, the idea was that maybe we could give a concert each semester," Lee said.

Organizing 13 musicians with typically busy schedules was not, Lee found, an easy task.

"Coordinating schedules is a mess," she said. "But my thought was that because these people are so good, if they had just looked at their music, then we'd be fine as an ensemble."

And fine they were. Group participants and audience members said they were pleased with the premiere Nov. 20 performance and looking forward to a repeat.

"If I'd been in the group, I'd still be patting myself on the back," said Elizabeth S. Mahler '01, a violinist who attended the performance.

Group members said they found playing together for the first time exhilarating.

"The audience was so supportive, and we were all really energized," said Jennifer M. Caine '01, a violinist in the group.

The group has yet to agree on a name for themselves, and asked the audience for suggestions at their last concert.

"We're going to discuss it soon," Caine said.

The 13 players also lack a conductor. The group did get one coaching session with the Mendelsohn String Quartet, but they generally rely on collective past experience and carefully-honed instincts to constructively criticize themselves.

"The way we left it was that everyone would pitch in when they had something to say," Lee said.

The group has not yet attempted to get official student group status from Harvard, but members say that they contemplate such a move in the future.

"This is something that we have talked about, and I think it would be a good idea to become recognized as a student group," Lee said. "Mainly, it would be beneficial for our money-situation and to get our name out there."

Students participating in the chamber music group said that in general, they find working with other Harvard musicians rewarding.

"There's a lot that musicians at Harvard can offer that you can't find at a conservatory," Joseph I. Lin '00, a violinist in the group, said. "They have depth and breadth of experience that's reflected in the music."

The group's members are all experienced musicians, many of whom frequently play in campus concerts as soloists. Transitioning from work as soloists and primary players in large groups to ensemble work with peers was a challenge. One result was that the group's first rehearsal was inordinately loud, according to Lee.

"It was hard, we definitely have work to do, but it was interesting--a soloist mentality in a group so big," she said. "In some ways [the soloist mentality] also helps because people had said after the concert that our sound and tone was so huge, and so rich."

With several other chamber groups, not to mention two larger orchestras on campus, the group may have to shape a musical presentation that is unique in order to attract future audiences. But Lee says one of the ideas behind the group's foundation was to increase the popularity and visibility of classical music at Harvard, that more groups are at present still not enough.

"I don't think that students take enough advantage of the concerts that go on around campus," she said. "Perhaps, the hype of this group will make people want to trek over to Paine Hall or Sanders to enjoy some classical music."

Lee said the new group provides Harvard with a sampler of the extraordinary musical talent that can be found among Harvard's students.

"I think getting all these people together is like [saying] "This is the level of playing that exists at Harvard, this is how good the musicians are,'" she says. "Take notice of it, because music here at Harvard is excellent."