I attended a performance of the Bohemian Quartet at the Sloper-Wesoly Immigrant Heritage and Cultural Center, the home of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut, Inc. in New Britain, Sunday afternoon, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good - and actually fun - this group was. I wasn't expecting much, honestly. I cover a lot of local events for my job, especially on Sundays when I run back and forth between Bristol and New Britain, but this was actually a great group of professional musicians. They're a string quartet made up of a violin, viola, cello and bass, and all the musicians live and work around Rhode Island. The director and violinist is Stan Renard, a Ph.D. music student at the University of Connecticut who arranges all the music the quartet plays.
According to their program, "The mission of the Quartet is to create an awareness of, and love for, 'Romany' music."
I think they do. You definitely get the gypsy, Eastern European flair with their music, and even though the set-up at the Sloper-Wesoly house was more of a seating than a dance, they played a lot of celebration music that you would want to dance to. I think I also liked them because they were like what Gogol Bordello does - except with just strings and less shouting. (There was still shouting - a few "Hey!"s here and there, but not as much as you'd get with Gogol Bordello's gypsy punk.) I really appreciate groups like the Bohemian Quartet that help spread an appreciation for more worldly music. One of the members of the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut said that he and other immigrants in the area often miss their traditional music, so it's nice to hear it here. I agree. I grew up listening to Laotian music with my parents, and they still play it in our house every once in a while, and I think it's important for people to keep ties to their heritage.
You can find my full story on the New Britain Herald here: Bohemian Quartet brings Eastern Europe to city.
You can also find out more about The Bohemian Quartet and listen to stuff on their website here: http://www.bohemianquartet.com/
(Photo credit: Rob Heyl, New Britain Herald Staff (That's my foot in the left corner!))
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