Members of the Cercis Quartet are, from left, cellist Kevin Flynn, violinist Sun Huh, violinist Nathaniel Shapiro and violist Christopher Alley.
Ideally, cellist Kevin Flynn wants the audience at Friday’s Summer Nights at Helen’s chamber concert to feel a part not just of the experience, but a part of the Cercis Quartet he performs with.
“We’d like them to feel like our fifth member on stage with us,” Flynn said. “… To me, that’s what can be really lovely about chamber music.”
At the intimate, 72-seat table configuration at Helen Haddad Hall on Franklin Street in downtown Columbus, that feeling might come pretty easily, where some attendees are seated literally only 15 feet from performers.
The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic recently launched the chamber orchestra series to spotlight elements of its own ensemble and to give local listeners a different musical outing in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. This weekend’s performance from a group that includes two Philharmonic members will highlight Marcus Ravel’s “String Quartet in F Major.”
“Oh, it’s transportive,” said Flynn, the Philharmonic’s principal cellist. “The piece sort of sends the listener into the sky.
“There are all these textures spiraling around, and things are sort of watercolor pastel on one side and then very vivid, primary colors on the other side, packaged as a classical, four-movement piece.”
When the ensemble first performed the work in November at a Michigan concert, the audience loved it. So Flynn and his mates — violinist Nathaniel Shapiro, the Philharmonic’s Christopher Alley on viola, and violinist Sun Huh — are hoping for a repeat this weekend. Friend and pianist Andrew Sohn will join the musicians when they present Antonio Dvorak’s Piano Quintet.
“We thought this was a great opportunity,” Flynn said.
In February, the quartet performed a string of free public concerts in Puerto Rico with the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico. They also did outreaches to schoolchildren all across the island.
“For many of these people, if they have a chance to hear one classical music concert per year, it’s us,” Flynn said.
The foursome’s unity initially was forged in social settings as student friends at Indiana University. He surmises that their emotional bond enhances the musical harmony.
“We were playing board games together, and going out together after concerts,” Flynn said. “So then it kind of fell into our laps when we thought, ‘Wait a minute. We have the correct instrumentation for a string quartet.’”
Flynn already has played one concert at Helen Haddad Hall that opened in 2020. And he has deemed the acoustics as “welcoming” — and hopes for added performance opportunities for all musicians and others.
“In my opinion,” he said, “any night that goes by in Helen Haddad Hall without a concert is ideally a waste of great space.”
About the concert
What: The Cercis Quartet performing as part of the Summer Nights at Helen’s series presented by the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Where: Helen Haddad Hall, 315 Franklin St. in downtown Columbus.
Tickets: $45, available at the cip.org and possibly at the door. Cash bar offers beer, wine, and spirits for a 21-and-older crowd.
