News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 3/24/04   Click on image for publication quality photo SOUTHEASTERN STRINGS – Southeastern Louisiana University string students will perform a pair of free concerts at 7:30 p.m. on April 1 and 7 at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. From left, are, Natalia Vacarciuc, cello; Hristo Birbochukov, piano; Valentin Nicolaescu, violin; Emanuela Lacraru, violin; Serban Petrescu, violin; Floreta Ioana Velicu, cello; Alexandru Ureche, violin; Hristo Hristov, viola; Ausra Jasineviciute, viola; and Simina Renea, viola. SOUTHEASTERN STRING STUDENTS TO PERFORM APRIL CONCERTS       HAMMOND -- A pair of concerts, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 1 and 7 at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Pottle Music Building Auditorium, will showcase the talents of the music and dramatic arts department’s string students.       The musicians are all international students and are studying with the director of Southeastern’s string program, Yakov Voldman.       On April 1, the Graduate String Quartet will perform Franz Schubert’s Quartet in D Minor “Death and the Maiden,” D. 810, and Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 3, F Major, Op. 73. Members of the quartet are Alexandru Ureche and Valentin Nicolaescu, violin; and Natalia Vacarciuc, cello, all of Chisinau, Moldova; and Ausra Jasineviciute, viola, of Rokiskis, Lithuania.       Nine string students, including the Graduate and the Lyric string quartets, will share the stage for an evening of chamber music on April 7. The Graduate String Quartet and pianist Hristo Birbochukov, a graduate student from Haskovo, Bulgaria, will perform Schumann’s Quintet for piano and string quartet, Op.44. All nine musicians will join together to play Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Octet E flat Major, Op.20.       Members of the Lyric Quartet, who are all from Romania, are Serban Petrescu and Emanuela Lacraru, violin; Simina Renea, viola; and Floreta Ioana Velicu, cello. Also performing is violist Hristo Hristov of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.       In addition to the concerts, the string program will host two masterclasses by Peter Salaff, director of string chamber music at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The public is invited to the classes, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. April 1 and 10 a.m. April 2 in the Music Annex choral room (163).        A founding member of the Cleveland Quartet, Salaff received a Grammy Award, seven Grammy nominations and “Best of the Year” awards from “Time” and “Stereo Review” magazines for recordings of more than 50 chamber works on major labels. The Cleveland Quartet’s many concerts included tours of the former Soviet Union, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, and Israel, in addition to U.S. and Canada. Ensembles Salaff has coached have garnered prestigious international awards.       The concerts and masterclasses are free. For additional information, contact the music and dramatic arts department at 985-549-2184.