Credit: DSQ
The extremely versatile and talented Dallas String Quartet (DSQ) likes to flavor their programs with a fusion of old school Bach and trending songs by artists like Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Celine Dion, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’ Roses and Stevie Wonder. Founded by violist Ion Zanca, the group’s members also include violinists Melissa Priller (on traditional and electric instruments), Valory Hight, bassist Young Heo and atmospheric collaboration from guitarist Joel White and percussionist Efren Guzman, Jr. DSQ’s concerts provide the ultimate in crossover entertainment that can be experienced in an upcoming doubleheader performance on October 12 at the Palos Verdes Performing Arts Center in Rolling Hills Estates, featuring shows at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm.
DSQ’s eclectic and innovative programming has become an accessible formula for attracting audiences of all musical interests, especially those who may shy away from sitting through heavy-duty symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Shostakovich and operas by Philip Glass or John Adams. “We’ve found that in order to get people to attend concerts, we have to play some music they can recognize and relate to. We love this challenge of combining staples in the classical string repertoire with modern music. For example, at our show on October 12, you’ll hear the introduction to the Sibelius violin concerto lead into Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. Some other classical works we will be incorporating into this show are Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Saint-Saën’s Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso,” says Zanca.
DSQ’s large base of concert-goers and fans follow the group on streaming platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and at venues like House of Blues. NFL and NBA games, ESPN, NBC, private events for former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards – as well as their latest album, Love Always which earned a number two rating on Billboard’s 2022 Classical Album and Classical Crossover Album charts. DSQ’s highly skilled members have roots from Mexico, South Korea and the United States and have studied classical music or jazz, especially in Texas. Zanca’s background also has an element of spice that begins in his native Romania and continues in Texas, where he received a Master’s degree in Music Performance from Southern Methodist University. While there, he formed a quartet of fellow students in 2007, of which the group initially played wedding and party gigs that subsequently transitioned into high-profile concerts which highlight DSQ’s dynamic personality.
Zanca is also a sophisticated composer, of which his music can be heard on the recent release, Romani: The Untold Story with the DSQ and London Symphony. The album represents a musical reflection and historical awareness about the Third Reich’s genocide of nearly 1.5 million Romani from 1933-1945. The work was motivated by Zanca’s visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site and contains the following five chapters: Brewing Conflict, Letters of Pain, Key of Heaven, Sangre Gitana and Rhapsody for the Romani. “As a musician and storyteller, I’ve always believed that music has the power to transcend boundaries and connect us to the deepest parts of our humanity. While I was growing up in Romania, I would hear Lautareasca music being played every day, whether that was by my father or grandfather. I really wanted to incorporate some of those musical elements into this album,” comments Zanca.
In the past, Romani people have been referred to as gypsies, but this term is no longer en vogue and considered a demeaning description, although composers such as Brahms and Sarasate wrote pieces with titles like Gypsy Airs and Gypsy Songs that evoke the unique Lautareasca style folk music of the Romani people – and Liszt noted their contributions in his book The Gipsy in Music of 1859. Zanca explains that his initial instinct in writing music for Romani: The Untold Story was to use a lot of Lautareasca based motifs, but realized the score would sound like a transcription of the genre. “So instead, I just incorporated Lautareasca into the final track of the album called Rhapsody for the Romani and made the rest of the album more cinematic, so the listener could picture the story as it plays. I was thrilled to include one of my dad’s most played Lautareasca melodies into Rhapsody for the Romani.”
In further clarifying his approach, Zanca adds, “The Romani violin style is defined by a striking contrast between slow, soulful passages and rapid, almost frenzied dances. In Track 2 of the album, Letters of Pain, I wrote long, soulful melodies to represent the cries of the Romani people as their families were being deported to concentration camps. This juxtaposes the last chapter of Track 5, Rhapsody for the Romani, where you can hear a frenzy of fast scales with quick grace notes in the violin part.” Composers such as Enesco, Bartok and Dinicu have written works with an essence of Romani folk music, and Zanca gives an update about the current scene. “My biggest Romani musician influences from outside Romania are Goran Bregovic and Roby Lakatos. There is a new generation in Romania that is starting to produce some incredible Romani music, and one of those musicians is Damian Draghici.” {Draghici is a pan flute virtuoso.}
Romani: The Untold Story is available on streaming platforms such as Apple Music and as a CD or vinyl recording on the Dallas String Quartet website.