The Humboldt Area Arts Council is partnering with the University of Saskatchewan to present Discovering the Amatis, featuring the Frontier String Quartet, on Friday, April 24 at 7:30pm at the Humboldt & District Gallery.

Amatis are rare and sought-after string instruments handcrafted in Cremona, Italy by the famed Amati family in the seventeenth century. The University of Saskatchewan proudly has four Amatis in its collection – two violins, a viola, and a cello. “It is rare for anyone to own one Amati instrument – but to have a quartet of Amatis in beautiful playing condition is almost unheard of,” said Dr. Mathieu, professor of violin and the David L. Kaplan Chair in Music, a position made possible by a gift from alumni Xiaoping (Bob) Xu (MA’92, LLB’17) and Ling Chen (MA’90) and named in honour of their former music professor. More information about the Amati String Instrument Collection is available here: https://leadership.usask.ca/unit/amati.php.

The Frontier String Quartet is a chamber ensemble of NAVO, a group of internationally recognized musicians based in Kansas, United States. Membership includes:

• Canadian violinist Véronique Mathieu, who holds the David L. Kaplan Chair in Music at the University of Saskatchewan, where she serves as Professor of Violin. Véronique has performed as a soloist with orchestras in Brazil, Canada, China, and the United States.
• American violinist Destiny Mermagen, a pioneering musician who is currently a classical music radio host on Kansas Public Radio, and founder of Prairie Classical, a non-profit arts organization in Kansas City. Destiny has appeared as a violin soloist and chamber musician in many prestigious venues across the United States, in Russia, Prague, and elsewhere in Europe.
• Violist and conductor Shah Sadikov, who currently serves as Assistant Conductor and Community Ambassador for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Shah is the former Music Director of the Overland Park Orchestra and has served on the faculty at Hays State University and the University of Saskatchewan.
• Cellist Michael Mermagen, Professor of Cello at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, and Head of Strings. Michael has held the prestigious position of principal cellist of the Aspen Chamber Symphony for more than 25 seasons.

Experience three incredible pieces through some of the world’s most breathtaking instruments: Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, “American” (1893); Bedřich Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, “From My Life” (1876); and David Raphael Scott’s String Quartet No. 5, commissioned by Véronique Mathieu for the University of Saskatchewan’s Amati String Instrument Collection.

Tickets are $25, available in-person at the Museum and Gallery, or by calling (306) 682-5226. For more information, call us or email info@humboldtmuseum.ca.

This concert is brought to you by Schuler-Lefebvre Funeral Chapel, Friends of the Museum & Gallery, and the University of Saskatchewan in partnership with Humboldt Area Arts Council and the Humboldt & District Gallery.