‘Art of the Violin’ Brings Music to the Masses

Stony Brook University Department of MusicArtist-in-Residence Jennifer Frautschi has been making - and teaching - beautiful music for more than 10 years and couldn't be prouder of the breadth of musical talent among students and fellow faculty members here. In 2015, she introduced a program, called 'Art of the Violin', to showcase and share more of that music with the campus community.

The idea was to provide free-of-charge, non-ticketed opportunities outside of formal concert halls that would serve as 'pop-up' concerts for people passing through the Melville Library Galleria space. And those who come intentionally sit and listen for up to an hour or so.

Along with violins, concertgoers get to hear classical works performed by small chamber groups including violas, cellos and basses, with the occasional piano and/or wind instrument thrown in.

For all, it's an uplifting, even magical, experience that Frautschi said is designed to "give people a little break from everything else going on in the world and enjoy the power of music and live musical performance." And for performers, it's a unique opportunity to reach out to more people on a more intimate level.

The Art of the Violin takes place two to three times a semester during Campus Lifetime, Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30-1:30 pm.

The next two performances will take place Wednesday, October 22 and Wednesday, November 12, both at 1 pm.

You can find all concert happenings (including Art of the Violin, posted by the beginning of each semester) on the Music Department's concert listings page.(You might want to bookmark it!)

Follow the department on Instagram @stonybrookmusic

- Ellen Cooke