Four music students awarded ORGS grant to travel to Italy

Four graduate students from the CMU School of Music were awarded the Summer Study Grant for their performance in the Chamber Music Festival "I Suoni di Sillene" . This will be a collaborative learning experience for the students and will host Benjamin Bernardes and Francesca Azzollini on violin, Haziel Santos on cello, and Erick Tinitana on viola. Together, the students make up the Xenia Quartet. 

Their study and performance is an extension of their Master of Music degree journey. As a string quartet, the four individuals work together to explore their personal and communal musical skills, working within the beautiful context of  chamber music. An international string quartet, Francesca is from Italy, Bernardes and Santos from Brazil, and Tinitana hails from Ecuador. 

Currently their next steps is a trip to Italy to participate in the "Suoni di Sillene" Festival, where they will be taught by Dr Alicia Valoti and Prof. Paolo Andreoli, renowned second violinist of the "Quartetto di Cremona". The group is excited to continue their growth as individuals and as a quartet, and look forward to an important culminating performance in Italy. They hope that with this trip they all will be able to return to share their experiences and what they have learned with the communities of CMU. 

The group has been working for several hours a day over the years under the supervision of Dr. Alicia Valoti and they are very grateful for the opportunity. Their grant covers most of their travel and necessities for their trip to Italy. 

This story is brought to you by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.