Joy String Quartet Performs Spring Concert
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College’s Joy String Quartet performed a spring concert on April 19 and 20. Students, faculty and staff, and members of the community attended the performance in the Conrad Recital Hall.
The quartet is composed of students selected from a competitive audition process. Sophomore violinists Michael Berry and Zachary Rinas, junior violist Bank Bodor and cellist Paul Trainor ‘23 perform on the instruments from the Hough Collection. The concert featured the Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 59, No 1 under the direction of Professor of Music Melissa Knecht and Visiting Faculty Kirk Toth.
“Performing in the Joy Quartet is a tremendous privilege,” said Knecht. “Our student musicians executed an outstanding achievement, offering a concert that did justice to the repertoire through their expressive and technical understanding of these fine instruments.”
The Joy String Quartet plays on four historic string instruments generously donated by David and Bonnie Joy Hough in 2022. The ensemble is named in honor of Mrs. Hough, who attended Hillsdale College in the 1980s. Mr. Hough became a member of the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees in 2021.
The Hillsdale College Hough Collection of Rare String Instruments includes a Nicolo Amati violin, a Francesco Rugeri violin, a Giulio Gigli viola, and an Alexander d’Espine cello. These instruments, crafted by Italian master luthiers from Cremona and Turin during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, are not only a precious heritage from the past, but also a rich resource for musical education in the present and a legacy for the future of the arts at Hillsdale College.
For photos of the instruments, click here.