Journey into the music
Chaski: Running messenger of the Inca Empire who would travel long distances through the Andes to share messages.
Chaski Quartet: 4 musicians (and runners) who travel long distances to share the best of the string quartet repertoire with audiences
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Chaski Quartet: Amy Huzjak, Alejandro Gómez Guillén, Han Dewan, and Sarah Cranor
Chaski Quartet: American Smooth
NM and CO June 2024
At the end of her poem “American Smooth”, poet Rita Dove describes a moment of transcendence shared with a ballroom dance partner:
“Achieved flight,
That swift and serene
Magnificence,
Before the earth
Remembered who we were
And brought us down.”
These moments of lifting ourselves and our audiences out of the everyday are what motivate our programming and mission as an ensemble. Since 2019, Chaski Quartet has performed string quartet repertoire across eras everywhere from concert halls to art galleries to prison visitation rooms.
We are excited to celebrate our 5th season making music, meeting new audiences, and traveling together with public performances in Albuquerque, Gunnison, Crested Butte, and 4 performances within Colorado Department of Corrections facilities. Come hear programs full of music by American composers inspired by dance!
Chaski Quartet: Decorating Time
2023 Colorado Tour
“Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.” —Jean-Michel Basquiat
Our 2023 season looked a bit different from past tours. Along with our public concerts in Gunnison and online, we shared music in 3 Colorado Department of Corrections facilities around the state. This project grew out a collaboration in 2021 with the Reentry Initiative and our passion for bringing quartet playing out of the concert hall and into the community. Our performances brought music that spans from Mozart to Montgomery to “Nose Scrunch Reel,” and some of the stories behind the works.
We hope you will consider supporting us in our venture to bring this music we love to new audiences, and that you joined us at the Gunnison Public Library or on Zoom at our Breckenridge House Concert! Concert details on the performances page.
Chaski at Buena Vista Correctional Complex on 7/11/23 (photo with authorization by Colorado Department of Corrections)
Since meeting in 2019, the Chaski Quartet has become known for their commitment to immersive concert experiences, audience development, and innovative programming. Recent concerts have included works by George Walker, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jessie Montgomery, and Jennifer Higdon, alongside works of Mozart, Beethoven, and Dvorak. In demand as clinicians and instructors, Chaski has coached extensively and performed for over 2000 students.
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