Zachary Rodriguez
Staff Writer
The San Julian String Quartet led by Vijay Gupta enchanted the audience with classical pieces Sunday at Morgan Auditorium.
Gupta and his talented colleagues performed songs by Sergei Prokofiev, Wolfgang Mozart and Bela Bartok.
The first two songs, “Sonata for Two Violins” and “Piano Quartet in E Flat Major K” filled the auditorium with the sounds of the violin, a viola and the cello.
Interim Music Department Chair Grace Xia Zhao also made a guest appearance on the piano.
“I found the music very motivating and full of emotion, and you could see it in the performers faces as they played,” music instructor from San Dimas Lisa Majors said.
“Every song they played had a story and a soul that really calmed me and helped me really appreciate life and its natural beauty.”
The songs the quartet performed conveyed their own emotions that gave them their own life.
“I thought his techniques were utterly perfect and the use of the dynamics,” freshman business administration major Jonathon Rios said.
During intermission, Gupta talked about how the San Julian String Quartet got its name from St. Julian.
St. Julian was a man who took in travelers and helped those in need.
Just like St. Julian, the quartet goes out to the Los Angeles community and helps the homeless and people who are incarcerated.
By playing for the homeless and people who are incarcerated, they all connect with the same language of music, Gupta said.
The last song performed, the longest of the three, had a true story that the audience was able to follow and feel throughout the performance.
There were no breaks in between to give the audience a full story with a beginning, middle and end.
The song had a movie-like quality to it and strong emotions that connected to the audience, Majors said.
“I was breathless by how well they performed,” freshman anthropology major Angelica Enriquez said. “I have never been to a performance like this before, so I really enjoyed it.”
The last Sundays at the Morgan concert will be “La Verne Live: The Best of the ULV Music Department” at 6 p.m. May 1.
Zachary Rodriguez can be reached at zachary.rodriguez@laverne.edu.
Zachary Rodriguez
