Ethel is a band bringing in new fans to classical music while also skewing the way the genre is perceived.
Casual music fans who may not be interested in “classical” may feel that way only because they have not dug into the genre enough to find something that suits the ears. But classical features so many varied sounds and tempos that if you cannot find something you like, you are just not listening.
Ethel wants to push you in a direction where if you are willing, you will find something you like. The New York-based group, featuring Ralph Farris on viola, Dorothy Lawson on cello, Kip Jones on violin, and Tema Watstein on violin, will perform tonight at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
“Classical music did a wonderful job of limiting itself. At a certain point, it was decided it was a very specialized art form. In so doing it shut off the public,” Farris said last week from his home in New York City. “We’re part of that movement that has reinvigorated a lot of the music-listening population to actually say ‘Hey, there’s something in here for me.’”
Ethel formed 17 years ago as a group of classically trained musicians who were using their instruments to play traditional music of the Mississippi Delta. It was that first classical take on the not-so-classical blues music of Mississippi that sent them in a direction of drawing on any and all genres they could.
“We said, ‘Wow, if this is what a string quartet can be this is what we want,’” Farris said.
Since then, the quartet has expanded its set lists into an infinite take on any and all genres of music.
“One of the great gifts of what we do is we are a collaborative ensemble. We’re always adding to our repertoire and our pallet of colors and sounds from various traditions throughout the world – from Chicago hip-hop to slack key guitar from Hawaii, to bluegrass to conjunto from Texas,” Farris said. “There are a lot of different colors that we will reach to as we’re bringing our work together.”
Think of them as an entryway for newcomers into classical.
“We pride ourselves on being that gateway drug, and we’re there to support the rest of the music industry,” he said.
Tonight’s show is titled “Grace” and will feature an adaptation of composer Ennio Morricone’s score to the 1986 film “The Mission” as well as cuts from the 1994 record “Grace” by late rock musician Jeff Buckley. Yet it’s more than an exploration solely into other well-known pieces of music. The band plans to use the music it is playing to show that the idea of “grace” can be pursued and found anywhere.
“It’s truly a real study in grace as emotion, as a concept, as a guide, as a spirit to live in,” Farris said. “There’s grace and beauty in the emotion of a husband towards a wife. There’s grace in the joy of music-making. There’s grace in the intricacies of craft. This is a program with those hooks for any audience member.”
Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.
Bryant’s Best
Today: Roots country, old time and degenerate ballads with Papa Otis and The Phantoms of the Rio Grande, 6 p.m. The Balcony, 600 Main Ave, 422-8008.
Today: Contemporary classical quartet Ethel, 7:30 p.m. $23/$29. Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, 247-7657.
