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Jessie Montgomery: "Strum"

Plucking and strumming are not quite the same things: Violinists usually use draw a bow across the string to get it to vibrate and break sound, but they can also, pluck and strumm, and well, do a number of different things! Montgomery's "Strum" was inspired by, among other things, the strumming fiddle style of t Appalachian fiddle culture. The strumming effect helps drive this piece rhythimically, and this piece is nothing if not a study in rhythmic vitality!

Jessie Montgomery grew up in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, experiencing a depth and breath of cultural influences. She began her violin studies at the Third Street Music School Settlement. Going on to graduate from the Julliard School  and  New York University she is a true product of a multitude of American cultural influences.  Her music  ranges from something  resembling music that written for English Consorts of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries  to the spicy  rhythms and melodic twists of the  sambambira, and Zimbabwean dance styles. The influence of  swing, techno and modern jazz improv are all part of her unique yet intuitively recognizably expression. In her official bio her work is described as  as “interweav(ing) classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, poetry, and social consciousness, making her an acute interpreter of twenty-first century American sound and experience.”  You can learn more about Jessie Montgomery and her music here: https://www.jessiemontgomery.com/about/ Of her music, the Madoc Quartet says, "It is challenging but fun, and absolutely exciting to play."


Enoy the music, then take advantage of QSCM's live performances with professional classical musicians to ask them to show you, strum, pluck, and bow, and answer any other questions you might have about the music they play!

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