Contributed Article/Courtesy Gila Valley Arts Council
SAFFORD – The Gila Valley Arts Council is proud to present the Beo String Quartet, Feb. 4, starting at 7 p.m. at the David M. Player Center for the Arts.
The eclectic, highly polished Beo String Quartet, founded in 2015, has carved out a niche for itself as a daring, genre-defying ensemble. Rigorously trained in the classical tradition, violinists Jason Neukom and Andrew Giordano, violist Sean Neukom, and cellist Ryan Ash also know their way around contemporary expression, including electronics, live sound processing, and spatial audio manipulation. Their performances of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, or Shostakovich have been compared to those of the best 21st-century international string quartets.
On Jan. 31, 2023, the Beo String Quartet made an auspicious New York debut under the aegis of the distinguished Morgan Library and Museum. The program included selections from J.S. Bach’s timeless “Art of the Fugue,” BWV 1080; the New York premiere of Sean Neukom’s “People;” “Enthusiasm Strategies” by noted American composer Missy Mazzoli; and Dmitri Shostakovich’s haunting Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110. George Grella, covering the Morgan Library concert for New York Classical Review, wrote on Feb. 1, 2023: “Beo String Quartet makes an outstanding New York debut. ..These days, one expects exact intonation and clear articulation from quartets, at all speeds and dynamic levels…The Beo Quartet had all that technical facility, to which they added a sound that was grainy with a touch of velvet, robust and woody—superior technique wrapped in a classic sound. Inside the historic room of J.P. Morgan’s own library, in the company of books and music manuscripts, and with the space’s excellent acoustics, the sheer sound of the quartet was invigorating and deeply satisfying. As was their artistry, which came across in both the programming and the playing. With all this skill, passion, and strength, one expected great things from the Shostakovich performance, and the quartet did not disappoint. This was an ideal pairing of playing and compositional styles—the quartet’s sheer expressive force added tremendous weight to Shostakovich’s theme.”
Undaunted by artistic or logistical challenges, they play the masters in a variety of settings, collaborate with living composers, and explore technology to the fullest. Called “an absolutely spectacular group of young, hungry musicians” by composer Marc Mellits, University of Chicago, and “an ensemble whose music-making speaks to the heart as well as the mind by composer Richard Danielpour, Curtis Institute for Music, Beo defies categorization. Works such as “Haydn Recycled” and “Projection 1: Triple Quartet” combine virtuosic quartet writing and staging in various forms. To date, Beo has performed more than 140 concert works, including some 65 world premieres, throughout Europe and the United States.
Beo regularly collaborates with living composers, including Richard Danielpour, Marc Mellits, Missy Mazzoli, Lawrence Dillon, Joel Hoffman, and Charles Nichols. As part of its annual residency with the Charlotte New Music Festival, Beo hosts a Composition Competition that yields a winning work selected from 100+ submissions. Every year, the quartet then records the composition and makes a point of programming it frequently in subsequent seasons.
NeuKraft Records was recently founded to facilitate the production and distribution of Beo’s numerous original projects without constraints on style or genre. Beo built a new, personalized recording studio to conduct recording, engineering, mastering, and live-streaming in-house, using state-of-the-art equipment, giving the players direct control over the final product and greatly simplifying the production process. Projects released on the label include string quartet masterpieces, original art songs, and long-form concept albums.
Music education outreach is essential to the quartet’s vision. Beo has earned a reputation for its thoughtfully crafted educational programs. Although disguised as entertainment, each show is designed to teach fundamental chamber music skills and a love of classical music to students ranging from complete beginners to pre-professionals. Also in development is a publishing effort to make the student ensemble works of Richard Neukom—father of Beo founders Sean and Jason Neukom, a strings educator with 40+ years’ experience —available to elementary, middle, and high school string ensemble educators. In some cases, these pieces include solo parts for Beo to play, making them suitable for in-person clinics with student ensembles. Through its educational tours of elementary, middle, and high schools, short-term residencies at colleges and universities, and its annual residency at Dakota Chamber Music, Beo has shared these engaging experiences with more than 3,500 students to date.
The name “Beo” derives from Latin, meaning “to make happy.”
With new projects always in the works, be sure to stay in touch with all things Beo by subscribing to @beostringquartet on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and SoundCloud. Beo joined the roster of the Lisa Sapinkopf Artists in 2022.
Gila Valley Arts Council is very excited that our Wednesday morning school show offered to all public, private, charter, and homeschool children is sold out. However, you and your families can still get tickets to the grand finale evening show, where children can get in for only $5, including premier seating. Tickets are currently on sale at Richards Music (928-428-2442), online at www.gvac.org, or at the door. Adult ticket prices are only $15 or $20; all tickets are reserved seating.
We graciously thank our GVAC Members who join as Supporting Members each year. This school residency and public performance project was made possible by funding received from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Creative West, and the National Endowment for the Arts. GVAC is also grateful for the support received from United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties, Freeport-McMoRan Corporation, and the Arizona Community Foundation of the Gila Valley.
