At Lawrence鈥檚 Conservatory of Music, Frueh found the perfect balance鈥攃ontinuing his study of traditional repertoire while delving deeper into new music. His professor, Samantha George, associate professor of music and teacher of violin, has been seminal in fostering this dual focus.

Under George鈥檚 guidance, Frueh developed a newfound appreciation for practice. Though he had always loved playing the violin, he previously found the long hours in the practice room tedious. Now, with an increased focus on new music, he approaches it with renewed enthusiasm.

When he entered the Conservatory, he expanded on his love of new music by forming chamber ensembles to tackle fiendishly difficult contemporary works, such as excerpts from both Schoenberg鈥檚 Pierrot Lunaire and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.

鈥淢y current interest is primarily in 20th and 21st century classical music,鈥� Frueh explained. 鈥淭hat was one of the main driving forces for choosing Bart贸k. My professor had a few other suggestions, like the Korngold, Glazunov, or Tchaikovsky concertos鈥攂ut the Bart贸k intrigued me the most鈥�.

For Frueh, the most exhilarating moments in the Bart贸k concerto come when the violin and orchestra surge together, creating a powerful, almost transcendent soaring sound.

He explained: 鈥淚 don’t know what the right word to describe [these moments] would be鈥攊t’s loud, it’s big, and it feels like filling a really wonderful space.鈥�

The movement is not without its difficulties, as such glorious passages are countered by immensely difficult technical moments. For Frueh, two factors made them reachable: the idiomaticity of the violin part, and the seasoned insights of his professor.听

鈥淭here are definitely a lot of fast technical moments that scared me, especially when I first looked at the music,鈥� recalled Frueh. 鈥淏ut since Bart贸k worked closely with the violinist Zolt谩n Sz茅kely, it’s oddly extremely violinistic.鈥�

He added: 鈥淭here are bits that initially look horribly difficult to play, but once you’re given the best fingerings鈥攖hank goodness for Professor George鈥攊t’s remarkably comfortable and satisfying.鈥�

Frueh plans to galvanize his contemporary repertoire further, looking forward to tackling a second Bart贸k piece next term, the composer鈥檚 1938 Contrasts for violin, clarinet, and piano. Other pieces on his wish list include works by living composers such as Jeffrey Mumford, Jesse Montgomery, Shulamit Ran, and Augusta Read Thomas鈥攎any hopefully to be featured in his junior recital next year.

鈥淭here are so many incredible musicians performing Brahms and Sibelius,鈥� Frueh said, 鈥渂ut I鈥檓 really drawn to works that haven鈥檛 been played as often.鈥澨�

One of those orchestra opportunities came right after Avil茅s moved to Bulgaria. He joined an orchestra a week out from their concert, and the conductor allowed him to perform with them. It was Avil茅s鈥檚 first concert in his new country, and he spent the whole week practicing. After performing in the concert, the audience called for an encore.听

Out of these experiences, Avil茅s learned that Bulgarian music is often something left unexplored.听听

鈥淚t鈥檚 something that I had the privilege of engaging with a lot while I lived in Bulgaria,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, what better way than to bring that music to Lawrence and to try to engage with it and put it out there for people.鈥澨�

Avil茅s had the opportunity to bring Bulgarian music to Lawrence when he performed in his junior recital Nov. 3 in Harper Hall. He performed selections from Rhapsody for Solo Violin No. 3 by Petar Hristokov and Sonata for Violin and Piano in D Major by Pancho Haralanov Vladigerov, celebrating two pieces that surrounded him during his time in Bulgaria.听

Finding a home at Lawrence

When deciding on where he would attend college, though鈥攖hose roots traced back to Avil茅s鈥檚 time in Colombia. An instructor of his had attended the Eastman School of Music in New York around the same time as Samantha George, associate professor of music and teacher of violin at Lawrence.听

鈥淲hen I was applying to school, she was like, 鈥業 don鈥檛 care where you get in. My first choice for you will always be Samantha George over at 糖心vlog,鈥欌�� Avil茅s said.听听

Avil茅s committed to Lawrence sight unseen. Unsure what the campus or the people would be like, his excitement to study with George propelled him forward. After several years of study, Avil茅s said George serves as an example of musicianship.听听

鈥淚’ve never seen someone who is as consistently, invariably excited about everything music all the time,鈥� Avil茅s said of George. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful thing to study with her. To have that example of excitement and enthusiasm鈥攖hat鈥檚 a wonderful thing.鈥澨�

The opportunity to pursue a dual degree also drew Avil茅s to Lawrence. In addition to violin performance, he selected neuroscience as his second major. His choice stemmed from a budding interest in psychology from his high school classes and helping his mom obtain her master’s degree.听听

Avil茅s looked at the Lawrence psychology and neuroscience course offerings side-by-side and found that neuroscience excited him more.听听

鈥淭he kind of research…I could engage with at Lawrence painted a really cool picture for me,鈥� Avil茅s said, 鈥渁nd I decided to go for neuroscience here.鈥澨�

On top of his studies, Avil茅s has also been a part of the chamber music scene and the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra. During one of the most recent concerts, Avil茅s recalls a moment while performing Tumblebird Contrails by Gabriella Smith. The piece, he said, is all about the ambient sounds you would hear in nature.听听

鈥淚 snuck a peek at the audience while we were playing, and I saw so many people had their eyes closed,鈥� Avil茅s said. 鈥淚t felt so wonderful creating that space for them to make in their minds with the music and feel everything that was going on on stage.鈥澨�

Avil茅s has appreciated the constant and burgeoning music at Lawrence. With fantastic orchestra cycles, continuous recitals and concerts, and opportunities to learn from masters in their field, he feels there is always something to engage with at Lawrence.听听

鈥淭ruly, I feel this place is a new home for me,鈥� Avil茅s said. 鈥淚t feels like I鈥檓 celebrated here. And that all comes from the administration here in the Conservatory, the faculty. I think all those values that are lived out in this building every day is what makes it possible for me to feel so comfortable doing what I do here.鈥澨�

Dammann said although violin and guitar aren鈥檛 uncommon combinations, Bergmark鈥檚 tabla鈥攁 staple of Hindustani classical music鈥攇ives their sound a unique, rhythmic flair alongside their progressive folk and bluegrass influences. It isn鈥檛 easily categorizable, and that鈥檚 part of the fun.

鈥淭he tabla brings in this element where suddenly we don鈥檛 have any canon to fall back on, so we鈥檙e kind of creating our own genre as we go; it really keeps it pretty open to what is possible,鈥� Dammann said.

This doesn鈥檛 mean the three have completely disavowed canon, however. Just as the old artistic adage says, one has to learn the rules before breaking them. Blanck and Dammann credit their years at Lawrence with giving them the needed music skills, connections, and encouragement of musical experimentation.

鈥淲hat we鈥檝e been doing is so Lawrence-y, which is to say I learned how to do what we鈥檙e doing at school,鈥� Blanck said.

Dammann said she grew up playing classical violin but developed a love for fiddle music that Lawrence allowed her to explore. She created a fiddle club, Fiddlers of 糖心vlog (FLU), brought her fiddle to play on geology field trips, and even ran a fiddle-playing workshop at Bj枚rklunden. As a prospective student, she remembers sitting in on a music theory class with Associate Professor of Music Gene Biringer that opened her eyes to new possibilities.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know anything about music theory, I didn鈥檛 even know what a V chord was, but I was like, 鈥榃ow, this is fascinating,鈥欌�� Dammann said.

While a student, Blanck joined Porky鈥檚 Groove Machine, a funk ensemble formed at Lawrence, notable for their uplifting humor, theatrics, and wacky costumes. Blanck remains a member of Porky鈥檚 along with Sprig of That. He said despite the bands鈥� vastly different styles, they have much in common.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e both idiosyncratic and niche in what I think are really fun and exciting ways, and I think both are products of where the seeds were planted, that being Lawrence,鈥� Blanck said. 鈥淪o many cool, quirky, different ideas are generated at Lawrence, and I think Lawrence students are often so good at finding ways to make them happen.鈥�

Just as Lawrence teaches openness to the world and other perspectives, Sprig of That has always embraced the diverse, beautiful, and unique styles and perspectives the world has to offer. For example, their album of commissions, Eight Threads, featured Dammann singing a song in Turkish called Adalet (Justice). The song was written by Yi臒itcan Eryaman, a Minneapolis doctor and classical guitar enthusiast whose birth city of 陌stanbul and its 脺sk眉dar district inspired his own 鈥淭urkish-Balkan progressive music鈥� band, Uskudar Eclectic.

Exploring the studio space

For their debut album, Sprig of That hired Wes Corbett, a music producer and banjo player who Blanck and Dammann said worked with many of their inspirations, including the Sam Bush Band.

Starting in May 2021, the band and Corbett began sharing demos and other recordings for critiques and advice. In December 2021, the band traveled to the Nashville studio Sound Emporium to record bloom.

Blanck and Dammann saw Corbett 鈥渓ike a teacher, a coach, a therapist, and a manager. He helped us connect to the studio and the engineer, and helped us set a calendar, but all the while being like, 鈥極K, I don鈥檛 buy that C natural, it鈥檚 gotta be a different note.鈥� 鈥� He just ended up being the right person,鈥� Blanck said.

The team also recruited Dave Sinko, an audio engineer with more than 30 years in the business and three Grammy wins.

鈥淲orking with Dave was just a dream come true, too, because he has recorded all of my favorite albums, but is also such a gem of a person; such a sweet, sweet person who made us feel really comfortable, and was funny and great to work with,鈥� Dammann said.

Now that the album is in post-production, Sprig of That hopes to play more shows and festivals.

鈥淥ur plan is to try and play as much as we can, to take the opportunities we can get, to keep making music when we can,鈥� Blanck said.

Avery Riel 鈥�23 was set on studying music when they entered college, but after finding Lawrence through the Colleges that Change Lives, they were able to discover a multitude of possibilities beyond just classical performance. They credit the special communities here on campus with making them feel welcome and helping them to discover the musical paths that are possible.

They say, 鈥淢y mentors at Lawrence have broadened my perspective. There are so many ways to connect with people through music, and I want to explore all of them!鈥�

Outside of conservatory studies, Avery enjoys participating in several clubs as co-president of the Band Booking Committee, president of the Deep Listening Club, administrator and researcher at the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, and member of the Dance Collective Ensemble and Greenfire Club. It is the ability to have this level of involvement that Avery says makes them excited to be a part of this campus.

鈥淚t is very easy to feel isolated during college, but when I enter the spaces of my communities, words don鈥檛 feel like enough. I feel so cared for, listened to, and connected.鈥�

Following their time at Lawrence, Avery is looking to study music therapy in graduate school.