Carolina Primrose Quartet brings seasonal strings to Burke Arts Council
Local violinist Dan Leich and the Carolina Primrose Quartet will present a selection of autumnal selections at the ‘September Strings’ concert on Sept. 27 at the Burke Arts Council.
The Carolina Primrose Quartet returns to the Burke Arts Council on Sept. 27 for a “September Strings” concert.
From the time he was a preschooler, Dan Leich had a gift for music.
“My parents recognized I had an ear for music when I was really little,” the Morganton musician said. “They signed me up for exploratory piano when I was 4 and I switched to violin when I was 10.
“I added viola to my instrument repertoire when I was about 14,” he noted.
By the time Leich, who grew up in New York, reached middle school, his musical talent had progressed, and his parents knew he needed private instruction.
“Mother was doing newspaper photography, and she had just done a story about The Children’s Orchestra based on Long Island,” Leich explained, “so I got involved with them.”
Leich said the intensive music program consumed his life every Saturday, but the experience advanced not only his interest in classical music but also his performance skills.
But when Leich went to Emerson College in Boston, the violin played second fiddle to film and photography, his chosen major.
“I did nothing with it,” he stated. “I was living in an old apartment building with very thin walls, so it was not good for practicing. The violin just sat in the case under my bed for a long time.”
While in school, Leich met his future husband, MJ, and the duo moved to Morganton in 2016, where the vibrant western North Carolina music scene inspired him to dust off the violin and join in a casual jam session with friends.
I was invited to join some musicians in Morganton,” he said. “They were playing Americana and folk music, and I just brought along my violin, sat in the corner, and jammed around with some classic stuff,” he said. The group played a little bluegrass, a little Americana, and even took a few classic rock songs and gave them a folk twist.
“That got me excited about playing music again,” he said.
Then, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hit and, according to Leich, all of the opportunities for making music died. “But as things were starting to get better, I found the Blue Ridge Orchestra in Asheville,” he said. “I told them I haven’t played classical in a long time and I’m looking to do it again.”
The nonprofit community orchestra was not only a good fit for Leich, but the organization also helped him connect with other classically inclined musicians. His collaboration with three fellow musicians resulted in a new venture.
Leich and cellist Zo Tatty, violist Vivian Torres, and Mari Hashimoto, who plays violin as well as viola, began playing together for fun, and eventually, the quartet decided to take their music public.
“The first thing we did was a Mozart piece for quartet, and we said ‘This actually worked out quite nicely. Let’s find some venues and let people enjoy this.’”
Leich said the foursome played at a few breweries and arts events in Asheville and, as interest in the group began to grow, they chose the name Carolina Primrose Quartet.
“We liked the floral aspect of the name,” Leich said, “and my mother is partial to primroses.”
About a year ago. Leich spoke with Deb Jones, executive director of the Burke Arts Council about ways the quartet might get involved with the organization on a local level.
“We thought maybe we could make a whole event out of this thing,” he said, “serve some snacks, some wine, and have music.”
That initial idea evolved into the Arts Council’s Spring Strings event in April. “Ticket sales were initially a little light,” he explained, “so we ended up turning it into an intimate affair.”
Leich said following the spring performance, both he and Jones saw the potential for a series of concerts, based on seasonal themes.
“Deb and I realized this is something that’s going to work,” Leich said. “The quartet loved it.
“We did something new (for the concert), from an assortment of classical pieces to modern works and even a snippet of something I had been working on.”
Clearly, people were interested. The Carolina Primrose Quartet returned to the Arts Council in July for a Summer Strings event, where they played to a much larger crowd. That concert helped forge a bond between the musicians and the Burke arts community.
“Deb is now committed to us,” Leich said. “We’re going to do this every quarter into 2025.”
Leich and the Carolina Primrose Quartet will present a “September Strings” concert on Friday, Sept. 27, at the Burke Arts Council. The event will feature an autumnal theme.
“We’re playing the first movement of Vivaldi’s ‘Autumn’ from ‘The Four Seasons,’” Leich said, “along with a nice arrangement for string quartets called ‘Autumn Leaves.’”
Leich said audience members will also hear a tango piece from Piazzolla, an Argentinian composer, as well as a Halloween music preview.
“It’s the end of September, and we’re moving into the October season, so we threw in some Halloween stuff, too,” Leich stated. “We’ll be playing the main theme from ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,’ ‘This is Halloween,’ from ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ and a classical piece from composer (Camille) Saint-Saëns called Danse Macabre.’”
Leich said the quartet especially appreciates the love of music in this region and the positive response they’ve received at the Burke Arts Council.
“This is adding a different style of culture and music expression in Burke County,” he said. “It’s different and I’m happy to be a part of that.
“This shows that we can not only love and appreciate music that’s locally made and locally celebrated, but also bring something different to Burke County.”
Tickets for “September Strings” can be purchased at the Burke Arts Council webpage, burkearts.org.
Sandra Wilkerson Queen may be reached at 828-445-8595, ext. 2002, or sandra@thepaper.media.
