Read the full article by Krista Minard at The Sacramento Observer
On a stormy Tuesday winter night, the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria filled with people who braved rain and wind to attend the inaugural performance of the Sacramento Public Library’s music series. In the hall, the Bay Area-based UBG Strings quartet played a set of about 15 pieces in a concert titled “Bach To Beyoncé.”
It was not just music. Layers of storytelling and audience interaction also peppered the evening, bringing a welcoming conversational element that further warmed the room.
“We’ll play a hodgepodge, smorgasbord of different types of music that most people aren’t necessarily used to hearing on string instruments,” UBG Strings founder Keith Lawrence explained to the crowd that first night. “Our instruments bring so much joy to us here on stage, and we have a rule: We can play anything that we can sing.” He quickly added, “But that doesn’t mean we can sing.”