The Wartburg College St. George String Quartet and Professor Rebecca Nederhiser shared techniques for arranging music for different ensembles during a presentation at the Iowa Music Educators Association conference.

Nederhiser, an assistant professor of music and Wartburg Community Symphony conductor, presented with Krista Vázquez-Connelly, a composer Nederhiser commissioned to arrange Amy Beach’s “Children’s Carnival” for string quartet. The St. George String Quartet, comprising Wartburg’s top string players, helped demonstrate parts of the lecture and presented Vázquez-Connelly’s full arrangement.

St. George members are seniors Nathan Hickox-Young, a violinist from Reno, Nev.; Gwen McQuaig, a violist from Wenatchee, Wash.; and Andrew Buchheim, a cellist from Sun Prairie, Wis., as well as sophomore Ashton Camper, a violinist from Mason City.

“These kinds of arrangements are used to shed light on lesser-known works or composers, and Amy Beach was a good example of that,” said McQuaig, who is majoring in religion/church music and music education. “Amy Beach is known for her piano works, so arranging for a string quartet or a string ensemble allows her music to be brought to a larger audience.”

During the presentation, Nederhiser and Vázquez-Connelly shared historical background about the Beach piece and differences between the piano and string quartet arrangements. Since the quartet was the first group to play this arrangement, they also had the opportunity to help Vázquez-Connelly through the process.

“I realized after the conference that we cast a very broad net with that presentation. Dr. Nederhiser and Krista offered everyone so much information,” Hickox-Young said. “They didn’t have to take all of it, but I appreciated how open they were saying, ‘These are just suggestions, do with them what you want.’ I think that is a good model for music in general. How you play each piece is ultimately up to you.”

McQuaig, who was able to attend the whole conference, learned a lot during the other sessions she attended and enjoyed watching the open All-State rehearsals. Buchheim, who also sat in on the honors orchestra rehearsal, said he finally understands the hype of Iowa All-State after seeing it in action.

“I don’t think we have this kind of All-State culture in Wisconsin, but you hear about it all the time in Iowa. Everyone has the ‘My kid was an All-Stater’ bumper sticker, which I found really funny when I got here,” he said. “But it is a big deal. We saw some cool performances just from the half-hour we were able to watch.”

For Camper, a biology major, playing with the St. George String Quartet and working with Vázquez-Connelly was a great way to take a break from her other studies.

“Music doesn’t have to be a career path to be a part of your life,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed having this opportunity to work with other great musicians and friends, and it was cool to see this whole process unfold over the last year.”

With half of the quartet graduating this year, Nederhiser is already preparing for auditions on March 10 for new members. Both prospective and current students are encouraged to audition for the principal violin and cello. All positions come with a generous scholarship from the Wartburg Community Symphony Association. Those auditioning should prepare a three- to five-minute solo repertoire selection and an excerpt from Alexander Borodin’s String Quartet No. 1. The music is available at www.wartburg.edu/quartet. For more information, contact Nederhiser at rebecca.nederhiser@wartburg.edu.