The Fremont String Quartet at St. Mary's Church

During the summer the Utah Symphony leaves Abravanel Hall, its more regular home, to perform in other venues, most notably the Deer Valley Mountain Resort and St. Mary's Church in Park City as part of the Deer Valley Music Festival.  I always try to see at least one concert at Deer Valley every summer but I have never been to one of the more intimate concerts at St. Mary's.  In the spirit of trying to fit in as much fun as possible before I have to go back to school, I decided to get a ticket to the final concert of the summer.  St. Mary's is a beautiful church in the mountains and the perfect setting for a symphony concert.  This concert featured the Fremont String Quartet which is composed of the string principals of the Utah Symphony: Madeline Adkins, violin, Claude Halter, violin, Brant Bayless, viola, and Rainer Eudeikis, cello.  They joked that this was their first official performance as a group and, based on their performance last night, it won't be their last!  They played String Quartet No. 2 by Beethoven, Three Pieces for String Quartet by Stravinsky, and String Quartet No. 1 by Brahms and I enjoyed these pieces immensely,  However, my favorite piece of the evening was definitely Fratres for String Quartet by Arvo Part.  I had never heard of this composer before but after tonight I may have to seek out more of his work!  It was contemplative, atmospheric, and just a little bit mournful (it brought a tear to my eye and I was not alone).  I especially loved the cello because it sounded like the tolling of a bell.  It was particularly appropriate in such a beautiful church.  This was a lovely concert and I definitely plan on seeing more concerts in this venue next summer.

Note:  I-80 W (the main freeway from Park City to SLC) was closed after the concert so it was a lot of fun getting home!  I had to go over an hour out of my way but I loved the concert so much it was worth the aggravation!