This Sunday, join Langley Community Music School (LCMS) as they launch the first major performance of the newly formed Rose Gellert String Quartet.
As part of the Concerts Café Classico concert series, the performance will take place on Oct. 16 at 2:30 p.m. and will feature two masterworks of classical repertoire: Haydn’s “The Emperor” String Quartet No. 62 in C major Op. 76 No. 3 and Mendelssohn’s passionate String quartet No. 2 in a minor Op. 13.
Established in 2016, this new LCMS quartet-in-residence is comprised of LCMS faculty violinists Will Chen and Samuel Tsui, violist Peter Ing, and cellist Ben Goheen.
“This group was formed to promote music and outreach to the community of Langley,” said violinist Peter Ing.
“We are all professional musicians with different backgrounds and experiences, and this diversity is a great asset to our quartet playing. We are thrilled to be quartet in residence at LCMS and to bring our music to the community.”
Violinist Will Chen has performed all over Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom as a soloist and chamber musician with the rising group Mainzer Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. He holds a Bachelors of Music from the University of Victoria, and a Masters degree from Hochschule fur Musik Mainz, Germany.
Hong Kong born violinist Samuel Tsui attained both his Bachelors and Masters degrees at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and currently performs as the principal second violinist of the Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the first violin section in the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Canada West Chamber Orchestra, and the Willingdon Church Orchestra, and has performed and recorded for high-profile artists including Michael Bublé, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige.
Toronto native and Vancouver resident Peter Ing is a renowned violin/viola musician and LCMS teacher, with a Master Degree from the University of British Columbia. He has performed across North America and Europe, including the Kent Blossom Music Festival, Colorado String Quartet Festival, and the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Italy, and continues to perform with various orchestras across British Columbia, including the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, and Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra.
Cello performer Ben Goheen holds a masters degree from UBC and has performed for multiple B.C. symphonies, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestra, Prince George Symphony, B.C. Chamber Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony, Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra and Canada West Chamber Orchestra. He also performs solo and in a wide variety of small chamber ensembles. In addition to teaching at LMCS, Ben is the conductor of the Surrey Symphony Society’s Intermediate Strings.
The event starts at 2:30 p.m. with a pre-concert conversation with the quartet, hosted by LCMS artistic director Elizabeth Bergmann, highlighting anecdotal stories and insights about the music and the careers of the performers. There will be a short break with coffee and refreshments, before the performance from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
“This inaugural performance will be exciting to hear,” said Bergmann.
“They are a wonderfully energetic young ensemble and it’s great to be able to feature them as part of our concert series.”
Tickets for this Concerts Café Classico event are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students. For those that want to attend several concerts during the season, a Concerts Café Classico flex pass is also available for any four concerts in the series for $65 adults and $54 seniors. Call the box office at 604-534-2848. The Rose Gellert Hall is located at 4899 207 St.
