A Glorious Ten months in Review...

Despite the fact that we havn't posted pictures in a dreadfully long time, the Lenz Quartet is still alive and well, enjoying many opportunities to grace our community with delightful, live music!
Our photographer, Samuel, came with us a few times over Christmas and this past summer; he recently reminded me I haven't been posting his work. So I've selelcted a few pictures I believe you will enjoy:

Last Christmas we played for several services around the South-Eastern Minnesota area...

Daddy made us an early breakfast before playing for a Sunday morning Christmas service... 

After three Christmas Eve services in a row! (Christmas "afternoon" for us :o) )

Benjamin and Garrison's orchestra just before performing Vivaldi's Gloria...

The wise musician's close friends... :o)

An early summer wedding... I won't tell how many pairs of socks we are wearing! It was a cool day.

A windy day! We were amplified with a sound system for this particular wedding and during the ceremony we kept hearing sounds like an Aeolian Harp coming from the speakers. We discovered that the wind was just strong enough to blow across my flute embouchre and Emily, Garrison and Benjamin's strings...it was actually making noise the sound system could pick up. Everyone keep your instrument at just the right angle so the wind doesn't play it for you ! :o)

A lovely garden wedding near Dodge Center...

Cloth's pins; an absolute necessity for an outdoor wedding...

Garrison and Ben analyze the need for amplification...

Just last Saturday we played for a wedding at the Borromeo Catholic Church in St. Charles. The acoustics were remarkable! At the couple's request we incorporated much of Bach's beautiful music in the prelude and ceremony and it was so lovely and tasteful!

This coming weekend we are playing music for an outdoor wedding on a farm near a small town called Berne. We'll post more pictures soon!

Congratulations Kjrk and Jovan!

Kjrk and Jovan were married in the garden at the Habberstad House bed and breakfast near Lanesboro.

October 10 was a gorgeous Fall day!

It was our pleasure to play for their wedding ceremony.

As you can see from the pictures below, the gardens were beautiful and fall colors were at their peak!

 Finding an ideal spot...

Setting up and tuning... being a wind player I can't quite relate to the time-consuming precision necessary to tuning a stringed instrument so I amuse myself by turning on my tuner, watching the dial and guessing which of my three siblings will tune by ear the fastest and most accurately.

Before you think I have such an easy time, consider the fact that from my own observations strings usually slip 1-2 HZ flatter in the first five minutes and I have to mentally predict when this will happen and adjust my embouchre accordingly.

And then consider that since they never bother to breath I have to go through super-human contortions to match their phrasing and interpretation! Well, maybe not super-human, but pretty close. :o)

Oh, the joys of playing a flute in a string ensemble! I love it! :o)

 The sun turned a lovely golden, pouring through the leaves as afternoon turned to evening...

Congratulations Tom and Jenna!

We were excited to peform for the first time at the Rochester United Methodist Church for Tom and Jenna's wedding! The church has beautiful acoustics, especially for chamber music.

We have good memories of attending concerts there... the first time we heard the complete Handel's Messiah when our youngest brother Sam, (now our soon-to-be 14-year-old capable photographer!) was a toddler and we took turns holding him on our lap... and the time we heard the Artaria String Quartet perform live!

Tom and Jenna's wedding was beautiful! They requested we play Bridal Chorus by Wagner for Jenna's processional and Wedding March by Mendelssohn for their recessional. And then Haydn and Mozart etc. for prelude and postlude.

We loved drinking in the vibrant acoustic sounds and dwelling on the intricacy that shown forth in all its actual precision! What a treat!

Congratulations Jason and Melissa!

Jason and Melissa were maried in a lovely historic church in Kenyon, September 25.  This was the weekend our town, Pine Island, was flooded, but we made it to Kenyon without too many creative route changes! :o)Fall is a beautiful time for a wedding! This was just four days before our own parents wedding anniversary!

Melissa was so thrilled to have a string quartet, and we were delighted to provide music for her wedding celebration!

These two brothers are grateful for each others company, providing frank conversation and practical observations on all operations... believe it or not, VERY necessary. :o)

Congratulations Adam and Kari!

Adam and Kari were married in early September at the Little Log House Village Church near Hastings. The village is meant to be a replica of a historic settlement and was sweet and simple.

 Once again, Ben joined us to play some of the requested quartet music. Before every event we transpose another piece of music from a viola's tenor clef to the violin's treble clef. Soon we'll be officially announcing The Lenz Quartet!

Joyfully at your service!