Metropolis Oboe Quartet

Description

The Metropolis Oboe Quartet is the unique combination of oboe, violin, viola and cello. All of our musicians are full-time professional performers and educators. It is our goal to bring to each concert "something for everyone." Each performance will explore as many time periods and styles as possible. Lively discussion between pieces helps the audience learn about the composers and musicians so they can enjoy the music both from an educational and emotional perspective. Whether performing for students or in a more formal concert setting - it is the quartet's goal to bring something that will make everyone learn, enjoy and smile.

Work Sample

Druschetzky Oboe Quartet. April 11, 2013. This is from a concert at the Byron Colby Barn. The performance was 90 minutes long and included works from multiple times periods and styles. All performances include talking between pieces so we can introduce the music, the instruments and ourselves. 

Marcello Oboe Concerto in C minor as arranged by the quartet. Also performed at the Byron Colby Barn on April 11, 2013. 

https://www.rendezvousarts.org/metropolis-oboe-quartet

Gabriel's Oboe by Ennio Moriccone (theme from the movie "The Mission"). This was a video recording made to advertise an upcoming performance on the Rendezvous Arts inaugural season (www.rendezvousarts.org). This is an example of how the quartet can play in many styles and time periods!

The instrumentation of the oboe quartet is unusual (most groups are usually string quartet) - and most of the work written for this combination is from the classical period - which is what is represented primarily in these recordings (even the Gabriel's Oboe is written in that style!). That said- we do have music from all time periods!

History

All members of the quartet are Chicago professional musicians - each for over 30 years. As a quartet we have performed together for 19 years and have in that time commissioned, arranged and discovered works for this combination of instruments - we have even done American premiers of music written in the 1700 and 1800s in Europe!

Artistic Vision

Something for everyone! Each of our programs is tailored for the specific event - so every concert is different. We like to hit as many time periods and styles as possible so that everyone in the audience walks away with a piece that truly spoke to them. We bring a lot of fun and laughter to our between piece talks and keep that energy going as we perform. 

Programs for Specific Audience(s) Expertise

We are all performers at heart and that shows - but we all also have children and are teachers and that makes us good at doing concerts for schools. We also like performing at universities where we can give masterclasses - we even invite the students to sit in with the quartet and learn from the aspect of playing the repertoire from within the ensemble. We feel this ability to not only perform for adult concerts, but to tailor performances to students/educational needs makes us unique and very marketable.