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Rhythm Sisters String Quartet Mixes It Up

Stephanie Jones on March 4, 2012
The Rhythm Sisters
The Rhythm Sisters

Rhythm Sisters, an all-female string quartet — a rarity in itself — shakes things up a bit at Noe Valley Chamber Music this March. No, they’re not a jazz band, but they do pride themselves on interactive concerts and atypical classical repertoire designed to reach a wider audience.

Born from the family concert series of violinist and band member Dawn Harms, the Rhythm Sisters maintain the same spirit of learning and interactivity characteristic of Harms’ shows. Music is the means and fun is the method, though the goal is to reach as many people through music as possible, especially children.

“The kids see how music is put together and how composers compose and what they think about it, what they’re thinking while they’re composing,” said Harms. “So, it’s just a part of my mission. My goal is to keep kids out of trouble. If everyone played an instrument — I hope one day they would exchange it: instead of a gun, they would have an instrument.”

Harms’ shows, which include costumes and the ability to change course midshow depending on audience reaction, began 25 years ago in Texas while she was playing in another quartet near Amarillo. Having received a grant, she put on a hundred concerts for children throughout the state and found a void in music education that was actually fun to try filling. Now, she uses that same out-of-the-box thinking, not only as an advocate for music education but also as an example of how classical music must adapt and change to become more accessible to the public.

“I think [classical music] is changing because we have to,” she remarked. “You know, it’s the Internet now. People have rap, country — they’re huge [radio] stations. There’s the Country Music Awards. There’s big stations. I mean, the classic music station in San Francisco went under and they’ve been moved [on the dial]. It was 102.1 KDFC. They’ve moved and they’re on this little station and they have to play soft, very soothing [music], and I think we have to change,” said Harms. “If [listeners] are not exposed to it, it’s actually not their fault. I find that it’s my fault for not getting it out to them and making it as accessible as all the other music.”

Composed of Candace Guirao and Harms herself on violin, Emily Onderdonk on viola, and Vanessa Ruotolo on cello, Rhythm Sisters play March 11 with an uncanny lineup of tango, Bartók, Mozart, and a melodic Dvořák favorite, New World Symphony. According to Harms, good things come when we “mix it up a little.”

“I want [listeners] to come out to see something beautiful, [something] that will take them out of their ordinary life and transport them to another world. They will be moved by the different emotions of how music can transform them.”