Candlelight Concerts are a new and unique way to experience music. With a string quartet performing surrounded by hundreds of candles that extend into the audience, this concert fully immerses audiences in the music.
A Tribute to Hans Zimmer
On June 29, they played their tribute to Hans Zimmer. Taking a seat on a small platform just feet from the first row of the audience, they immediately jumped into their performance of “Time” from the movie “Inception.” With the lights dimmed and the room only illuminated by the light from the hundreds of flickering electric candles, the audience was immediately transported by the music.
They played a small number of Zimmer’s famous movie scores. With fun and lighthearted pieces from “Lion King” and “Madagascar” to darker tracks from “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight,” the musicians fully engaged the audience with their talented portrayal of Zimmer’s composures.
Some other highlights were powerful tracks from “Wonder Woman 1984” and the intense corn chase scene from “Interstellar.” Finishing the show off with scores from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Sherlock Holmes,” the musicians received a well-deserved round of applause encouraging an encore.
This concert is not only a fun experience for audience members unable to go to one of Zimmer’s live concerts but also for the musicians.
“My favorite song is the ‘Interstellar’ song because it’s something that I enjoy listening to, and the fact that I get to play it is like a 2-in-1. Listen and play for my enjoyment,” said viola player Madison Moline.
Cellist Mira Larson also enjoys playing the “Interstellar” score.
“It’s fun to play,” she said. “We all play off each other more than the other numbers.”
Learning the Music
Violinist Erika Hubbard said simplifying a score for an orchestra down to a string quartet means picking up more parts or reworking it to be their own.
“Our parts are pretty thick,” Hubbard said. “We’re all playing what would be multiple parts in an orchestra, or they’ve tried to weed some things out and fill in other parts.”
“We’ve gone a little bit in the direction of making something that really works by itself maybe without the movie in some cases,” Larson added.
Reworking it to be their own also allows them to have fun with it.
“It’s really fun now that we know the music well enough. It’s like, ‘let’s add something instead of just having to play what’s written,’” Moline said.
The musicians play so well together because they know each other so well. They’ve practiced and played together so much that they are in tune with each other musically.
“A part of learning these programs is learning each other,” violinist Shenae Akagi said. “As we’ve gotten to know each other better we’ve been able to pick up on when somebody wants to do something interesting.”
An Intimate Connection With the Audience
With a small stage so close to the seating, the musicians can intimately connect with the audience. This is a change from the usual formal setting of classical music performances, allowing for greater audience response.
“It made us feel so energized and have so much fun, because of the audience,” said Moline.
Part of their intimate connection to their crowd is getting to reach new audiences, fans of the music who are new to the world of classical music.
“It’s fun to play for audiences who really know these pieces so well and they’re so invested, and they come for the music,” Akagi said. “It reaches a wider audience, because we get those classical music lovers, and we also get new audiences that have never heard a string quartet play, and that’s really exciting for us and really fulfilling.”
Candlelight concerts make for a fun date night or a great experience if you want to enjoy some beautiful music. They have upcoming concerts covering anime themes, tributes to Adele, Coldplay and Imagine Dragons, and will be playing their Hans Zimmer show again in August.
