String quartet promotes classical music

The music of Mozart, Brahms and other composers has been around for centuries, but many find it inaccessible.

The Foothills String Quartet aims to change that attitude by educating audiences about classical music through performance.

The quartet will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday at the First Lutheran Church in Yuba City.

"Most people are not exposed or interested in (classical music) because they think it's too complicated or complex for them," said Rebekah Hood, cellist of the quartet. "It takes understanding to like classical music. So one thing we're trying to do is introduce people to what (classical music) means."

In addition to Hood, the quartet is made up of Irina Samarina and Bakyt Bekdjanov on violins and David Thorp on viola. For this concert, Michael Parks will join on piano.

All members of the quartet also perform in the Stockton Symphony. The quartet got its start last April when the members were asked to perform at a local event in the foothills.

"We ended up doing a series of concerts in churches, and we started a professional group late last year," Hood said.

The quartet's repertoire focuses on pieces by Mozart, Schubert and Mendelssohn — "All the great classical works," Hood said. For Sunday's concert, the group will perform pieces by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.

At their concerts, Hood explains the music and gives a history of the pieces — such as when they were written and what was going on at the time.

"We want people to know what's interesting about the pieces and why they're being performed," Hood said. "It makes the music accessible. And once you understand classical music, you want to see more of it and it's more exciting."

Admission to the concert is free, but a freewill offering will be taken with the funds generated benefiting a local charity.

"Classical music is like a fine wine — it's really complex — and when it's aged, so you have to drink it sip by sip to understand its complexity," Hood said.