PRATIE PLACE

Search this site powered by FreeFind

Friday, October 14, 2005

The Locrian String Quartet

So Mr. Sugar asked Tar Heel Tavern contributors to write about a favorite t-shirt this week. I can't take a picture of mine because it's buried in the attic somewhere, but it's very plain - a ragged brown t-shirt that says
The
Locrian
String Quartet

The summer after graduating from Yale, unable to decide what to do with my life, I played violin in the pit orchestra of the College Light Opera Company, a concern I'm delighted to see is still in operation all these many years later. Spend the summer on Cape Cod, play "The Merry Widow" and "Guys and Dolls" etc., go swimming, make friends ... learn how to cook gigantic vats of hippy food ... you get the idea.

I made a dear friend there: a willowy strawberry-blonde violinist named Claria. She had a life plan which included moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts after leaving Falmouth. I decided to do the same - the deal being clinched when four of us (the whole violin section) visited an outdoor festival and met up with Laduvane, a women's Balkan ensemble also based in Cambridge. OK, that would be my plan. I would go to Cambridge, sing Balkan music with Laduvane, and play violin with Claria.

Claria and I did very well busking in Harvard Square, playing Bartok (and other) violin duets. We sometimes made $40 an hour, which seemed pretty great to us. She got a Real Job, I became a temporary typist. My father wrote me a letter saying: "If I knew how you were going to squander your education, I would never have sent you to college."

Eventually we managed to find a violist and a cellist, and as the Locrian String Quartet we spent many, many happy afternoons and evenings playing Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and whatever else we could fish out of the music library. I was in hog heaven.

Our high point was a concert at Tufts University, doing the Brahms piano quintet with a pianist the violist's coach found for us. This picture was taken after the concert: violist, pianist, Claria, cellist, and me. We were so proud.

I had a lot of energy in those days. For instance, when I decided we needed t-shirts, I learned to silk-screen, built myself a wonderful silk-screening studio, and designed and cut the stencils and did the t-shirts myself. It seemed a pity to make so few after all that effort! I think there were only 6 or 7 altogether.

Times change. The cellist, a chemist, got a gig as professor in Oxford Mississippi and had to leave us. The violist likewise left town. The pianist, whom we had not known well and whom we hadn't seen again after our glorious performance at Tufts, died. Claria married my best old boyfriend and moved to New Jersey.

That was the end of classical music in my life. I couldn't play those quartets now without putting in way more time than I'd be willing to devote to the experiment. The t-shirt fell to rags and is buried upstairs.

Technorati Tags:

Labels:

9 Comments:

At 7:07 AM, Blogger kenju said...

Too bad it had to end, but what wonderful memories it must afford you. You were pretty cute back then!

Michele sent me this time.

 
At 11:43 AM, Blogger Isabella K said...

Great story! (Nice photo, too.) I kind of want one of those t-shirts now. Maybe you could set up another studio...

 
At 7:38 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In the year 1988, I decided that 88 was my favorite number...something about its symmetry...infinity double. Then I found an old phtotograph of me when I was a teenager with a football tshirt on that said 88! I had completely forgotten it.

 
At 11:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What lovely memories! I wish I had been so adventurous...

Here from Michele's today.

Joan
www.beanbagcentral.com/joan

 
At 12:01 AM, Blogger Michele said...

Stopping by to say hello...

You have such a glorious way of sharing your memories. Thank you.

 
At 9:54 PM, Blogger Erin said...

haha you should put the shirts back into production through the magic of cafepress.com!

 
At 10:57 PM, Blogger Ron Hudson said...

This summer, I met 3 young Polish girls performing on the street in London and filmed them for a documentary. They were quite good and were very exhuberant about being filmed. Your post reminded me of them. Thanks for sharing.

 
At 8:23 PM, Blogger Laurie said...

I like the fact that the shirt's in rags but you haven't thrown it out, even if it is in the attic!

 
At 1:34 PM, Blogger Tony said...

I've still got the t-shirt I wore at my first concert at an old folks home playing the violin - that was 32 years ago. You're words brought back the memories and I certainly will make sure it's preserved! Tony

 

Post a Comment

<< Home