For the first time since its inception, the Barron String Quartet from the Stetson’s School of Music will travel to Italy to participate in the Orfeo Music Festival from July 1 to July 12. 

“School of Music Dean Washington Garcia secured funding for this incredible opportunity, which will expose our students to a rich blend of Austrian, Italian and German cultures,” said Routa Kroumovitch-Gomez, professor of violin. “Beyond cultural exchange, they will have the chance to collaborate with young artists and world-class professional musicians from around the globe.” 

During their time at the festival, the members of the quartet — violinists Danae Tran and Madelyn Munley, violist Aine Mullen and cellist Georgie Gonzalez — will engage in diverse activities such as daily lessons, workshops and master classes while performing both, individually and as an ensemble, at concerts. 

“I think it’s really a huge opportunity for us both, as individuals and as members of this quartet, because getting to go to Europe as a musician is something you have to do,” said Mullen, a sophomore majoring in Performance (Orchestral Instrument). “The music culture there is just so much more vibrant than it is here, there’s a lot of knowledge you can absorb and I believe that will help us grow.”

The repertoire the quartet will be performing consists of Smetana’s Quartet in E minor, From My Life and Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 3. These pieces were chosen to ensure that the quartet meets the performance-level standards of the festival. 

“This is some really heavy repertoire, so it’s a great experience to really dig deep into it,” said Gonzalez, a junior majoring in Performance (Orchestral Instrument). “We spend three hours together on a typical week of rehearsal, sometimes more. However, we spend countless hours outside of rehearsals learning our own parts, studying the scores and researching the composer to really understand this music in a deeper way. When we get together, all our individual work molds together to create something special.”

Despite this being the first time the Barron String Quartet will participate in the Orfeo Music Festival, some Stetson music students have individually attended the festival in the past. Also, because of its proximity to the location of Stetson’s Innsbruck Program, John Tichenor, PhD, professor of Management and Eugene M. Lynn chair in Business, has coordinated trips for students to attend concerts at the festival, which takes place in the township of Vipiteno.