The St. George String Quartet represents the top four string players at the college, each of whom was chosen via an audition. Members of the quartet serve in leadership roles within the various string ensembles on the campus and meet regularly with coach Bethany Washington to perform major works within the genre. The quartet provides music at functions on campus and within the Waverly community. Most recently, the group was featured at the IMEA conference in Ames, Iowa in which they premiered a new arrangement of Amy Beach’s Children’s Carnival. Members of the quartet each receive a generous scholarship funded by the Wartburg Community Symphony Association.
St. George is not only the name of the patron saint of Eisenach, Germany, but it is also the name of the church in which Johann Sebastian Bach was baptized. Bach was one of the most influential composers of 17th century Germany and his family has deep roots in Eisenach, sister city to Waverly, Iowa.
Currently, auditions are being held for violin I and cello for the 2023-2024 academic year. These positions come with a generous scholarship that can be awarded in addition to the Meistersinger music scholarship. The group is open to both music and non-music majors. Auditions will be held on campus on Friday, March 10 from 3-4:30 p.m. In addition to a short solo piece, interested individuals will perform an excerpt from Borodin’s String Quartet No. 1 (Mtv. I, Beginning to Letter C.) For those on campus during other Meistersinger audition dates (January 14 and February 18), arrangements can be made to audition early. Please click the link below to access the audition material.
For more information contact orchestra director Dr. Rebecca Nederhiser at rebecca.nederhiser@wartburg.edu.