We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mint String Quartet . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mint String Quartet below.

Mint String Quartet, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

We’ve each embarked on a lifelong journey of learning the craft of our primary instruments, of which require years of dedication and guidance. We quickly learned that founding a long-term string quartet and business was an entirely different process of learning- to foster a collaborative musical endeavor that is fulfilling, and a business environment that is productive, it requires even more patience and pure grit. Four musicians sharing in the experience of learning the craft of chamber music becomes much more nuanced due to the sheer amount of decisions and collective goals we must make together daily, often with necessary compromise. We have watched our dynamic as a string quartet strengthen over time in regards to communication, and that really sped up our efficiency. A lot of our learning experiences as a string quartet came down to recognizing how to value each other’s personal attributes, and we believe that directly translates through our music.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As members of Mint String Quartet, we are highly skilled and versatile musicians who are committed to providing an engaging and approachable experience in all of our musical endeavors. As a string quartet composed of two violins, a viola, and cello, we play instruments that are often characterized by traditional, classical music, but it is important to us to be innovative in a way that brings accessibility to these classical instruments in a non-traditional way. This is exemplified in the diverse repertoire choices we make, in our modern branding, and in our relationships with our audiences and clientele. One thing we pride ourselves on is breaking the barriers of what it means to be a string quartet or classical musician. We love witnessing people make the realization that we are in fact, playing Thank U Next by Ariana Grande, or that yes, we’d be happy to play Legend of Zelda at your wedding while wearing viking costumes!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For Gracie and Andrew, being a part of something bigger as a collective effort is really meaningful and rewarding. “We just feel really proud to be in an ensemble and business that is thriving off of self-initiative from each member, knowing that each of our colleagues across from us are just as passionate and dedicated to our common goals”.

Hanna and Erin bring up the aspect of music as a means for human connection. “Just knowing the power of how much we can really add to someone’s experience, or the visible bit of light or inspiration we can bring to people is always rewarding”.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We founded Mint String Quartet in 2020, right amidst the pandemic of Covid-19, so we kind of naturally had a sense of resilience from the very start. Music is social, rehearsing is social, performing is social, and so is figuring out how to run a business together, and we had to be very creative in how we went about that during many months of lockdown. Even in ‘normal conditions’, choosing a life in music is just not for the faint of heart, and we have a mutual understanding of the adaptability it takes to continue this journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: mintstringquartet.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mintstringquartet/?hl=en
• Facebook: Mint String Quartet
• Other: Inquiries: [email protected]