A symphony of sounds — from trumpets to singers — wafts down the hall of Northern Kentucky University's Department of Music.

        Until recently, those sounds have not included violins and cellos. But now, with a new, $2.5 million Patricia A. Corbett String Program at NKU, members of the Amernet String Quartet hope to change that.

The Amernet Quartet, with pianist Sergei Polusmiak, in rehearsal for Saturday's program: (from left) Erez Ofer, Marcia Littley de Arias, Javier Arias, and Yoram Youngerman. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        “The first step is to get the word out that we're at NKU, and that there's an opportunity to study strings here,” says Erez Ofer, first violinist of the Amernet Quartet, the quartet-in-residence at NKU.

        “We're going to recruit local students, and students from as far away as Mexico and Israel. It's really a work in progress, and we are learning as we go along.”

        The Amernet Quartet will inaugurate the string program in a free concert Saturday in Greaves Hall.

        The musicians aim to become ambassadors for classical music in Northern Kentucky. With their first concert — in the Patricia A. Corbett Chamber Music Series — they hope to latch onto a growing interest in classical music south of the Ohio River.
       

A track record

       

IF YOU GO

What: The Patricia A. Corbett Chamber Music Series, The Amernet String Quartet; pianist Sergei Polusmiak; the Northern Kentucky University Chamber Choir; Patricia Corbett, narrator.     When: 8 p.m. Saturday     Where: Greaves Concert Hall, NKU     Admission: Free; (859) 572-5464     The program: Mike Reid, selections from Prairie Songs (premiere); Haydn, String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 33 No. 1; Dvorak, Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81.

        As they build a new string department from the ground up, they plan to start small, with a goal in five years of having enough students for a full chamber orchestra.

        They have a track record. While the Amernet was Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for four years, the number of chamber music groups they taught tripled.

        Their duties will include music education outreach to Tristate schools “to let them know that at NKU there will be an exciting opportunity for them to continue their music studies,” says cellist Javier Arias.

        In particular, the quartet hopes to make an impact on Northern Kentucky schools that have choral and band programs — but no strings. The Amernet will play an important role in training music teachers to teach strings.

        “There is a shortage of music teachers everywhere. When you filter that down to the different levels, string education is the hardest hit,” says David Dunevant, chair of NKU's music department.
       

"Smaller environment'
       

        NKU does not see itself as competition to the larger and more performance-oriented CCM. Rather, says Mr. Dunevant, “NKU is for someone who wants a smaller environment, and who wants a focus on music education.”

        A final component of the new program is scholarships for students. With more scholarship money, its first quartet-in-residence and the Tom and Christine Neyer Family Professorship of Music awarded to pianist Sergei Polusmiak in April — NKU's music department is ripe for growth. In the past two decades, it has expanded from six to 150 music majors.

        “I hope we can find a niche,” says Amernet violinist Marcia Littley de Arias. “It's not just going to be bringing string players here, but finding ways that we can fill out the music scene in Greater Cincinnati.”

Theater
Theater review
Quartet, NKU form classical duet
'Spin' has a Sheen but misses its Fox
Get to it
Pig Parade/Cheshire Pig