The UND String Quartet, made up of Lihue Czackis, Carlos Brena, Vinicius Sant’Ana and Kara Hartten made its way west on a three-day tour that brought exceptional musical performances to three western North Dakota communities.

Under the direction of Professor Alejandro Drago, the group started rehearsals to prepare for the tour at the beginning of the semester.

“We had to do fast, very intensive work,” Drago said. “We had to be ready to take off with the Quartet undergoing a partial renovation with two of the members being new, so it was a challenge, but a good and exciting one.”

This challenge led the group to practice around four to five hours a week, adding in extra days and hours right before the tour.

Hartten and Brena are new members to the quartet this year. Hartten is on her second year, while Brena is on his first year as a master level student. They joined veteran players Sant’Ana, a three-year member of the quartet, and Czackis, who is on his fifth year.

“We are still getting to know each other, but so far we are getting along really well,” Viola player Czackis said.

One of the pieces that the quartet played for the tour was Badlands, an original composition by Matthew Peterson, a Grand Forks Native who currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden. Coincidentally, Peterson was at UND a couple of weeks before the concert series, so the quartet had the added benefit of being coached by the composer himself in preparation for the tour.

“It was quite an opportunity for them,” Drago said.

The group headed west on Friday to Stanley N.D. where it played at the Sybil Center the following day. The experienced players have been performing for most of their lives, giving them the benefit of not letting nerves get to them before performances.

“At this point for us we aren’t nervous or afraid of playing,” Czackis said. “We are more excited or just looking forward to the performance.”

The group is cool and collected before performances. It relaxes, discussing other things until right before its about to go on. After that, they focus and give it their all.

“Playing with four people is easier than playing with just a piano.” Czackis said. “You have that small reassurance where you have four other people supporting you.”

The next stop on the tour was Williston N.D., where the group played at the James Memorial Art Center. Here, it drew in a nice crowd in the rather small hall.

The final destination of the trip was in Bismarck N.D., where the quartet ended the trip on a good note, playing for the largest crowd of the tour at the New Heritage center.

“At no point did we have less than 110 people,” Drago said. “Regardless of size, there was a lot of receptiveness, a lot of willingness to hear music and engage. And you could tell the level of sophistication the audience had because they were so well behaved and so into it. You could tell they were really there for the concert.”

Ashley Carlson is a staff writer for the Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].