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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 15 CITY LIFE WATERLOO CHRONICLE By Bob Vrbanac Chronicle Sta� They are some of the greatest ambas-sadors of Wilfrid Laurier University, producing more than 30 internation- ally acclaimed recordings of classical music and performing at world famous venues like Carnegie Hall. More importantly, they share that knowl- edge with students of the school's faculty of music as the quartet-in-residence, giving out performance tips as well as sharing the pas- sion for the music they perform. And the world-famous Penderecki String Quartet is celebrating the 25th anniversary of that relationship with a showcase of their talents on March 19, 2 p.m., at the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall at WLU, with special guest pianist Janina Fialkowska. Well-known local violinist and music maker Jerzy Kaplanek would like to say he was around from the beginning of the quartet's founding in 1986. In actual fact, he joined a year later after the group began its career winning the Penderecki Prize at the National Chamber Music Competition in Lodz, Poland. "It's been an amazing 25 years of cham- ber music making," he said. "I always consid- er myself one of the luckiest guys in the world because we truly do what we love to do." Kaplanek was from the same music school as the original quartet in Poland. "I was friends with members of the group and one year later they called me in," he said. � e group eventually came to Waterloo in 1991 to join the school's well regarded music faculty and became part of the school's out- reach to budding musicians as the official quartet-in-residence. They would play shows, do workshops and encourage talented players to come to Laurier to study strings at the renowned pro- gram. "We all love teaching, and I can't imagine my life without it," said Kaplanek. "Being on the road, playing concerts and being on stage comes back to our room. "We bring that experience and share the essence of it." Paul Pulford was the group's original cel- list, but he eventually put his focus on teach- ing and as an orchestra conductor. � ey will be celebrating his contributions during the school's upcoming renowned Quartetfest, as he gets ready for retirement. � e main players these days, in addition to Kaplanek, are Christine Vlajk on viola, Katie Schlaikjer on cello and Jeremy Bell on violin. At the same time as being instructors, the quartet has also made a name for itself as preservers and purveyors of chamber music and the intimate performances once given in salons or at the royal courts around Europe. "We play an amazing repertoire and we get to travel," said Kaplanek. "What else can I wish for?" Kaplanek said they've also been lucky to be part of a supportive local community. They've had the support of the K-W Chamber Music Society and have been regu- lar performers at the Music Room run by Jan Narveson. � ere is also a vibrant classical music per- formance program run out of the Perimeter Institute the quartet supports, and it has fos- tered a musical community that would be hard to match any place else. "� e city wouldn't be the same without the Chamber Music Society. It's so unique and we're so lucky that we're here as a quar- tet because we have a place to play regu- larly," said Kaplanek. "We've been playing here even before we were the quartet-in- residence at Laurier, and play three, four � ve times a year for an incredibly knowledgeable audience. "It also gave us a chance to go out and hear other great performances, not to men- tion giving our students the opportunity to experience the music so close to both univer- sities. It's such an enrichment that we really value so much because it's very special and very unique." Kaplanek has also scratched an itch to perform other music like jazz at the Jazz Room run by the Grand River Jazz Society at the Huether Hotel. "We love collaborations, we love working outside of the group," said Kaplanek. "I think those kind of experiences are feeding the energy in the group as well. "We all like playing the recitals, and occa- sionally with the orchestra, but I also love to play jazz so I've been expanding on that. "We've done collaborations with jazz musicians and composers, and we've been lucky to be asked to perform at the Perim- eter Institute some of our new music proj- ects with cutting edge computer-generated sound or interface." That drive to collaborate continues this Saturday with the Penderecki String Quar- tet's anniversary performance with Fialkows- ka. "She recently received an honourary doc- torate from Laurier, and we thought it was a natural connection to reach out to her," said Kaplanek. "We're looking forward to per- forming the Chopin concerto even though it's not a straight forward chamber piece. "It's a work that Chopin took to Venice to present to his colleagues, and music lovers in Austria." Although it's usually considered a piano concerto, Kaplanek said Chopin would have performed it with a string quartet. "It's a bit of a rare performance," said Kaplanek. "It's going to be a musical conversation." For more information, or for tickets, visit www.ticketscene.ca/events/16498/. String theory Paint the Square Green March 17 � e community is invited to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with all things Irish -- traditional Irish dance, Irish music and Irish fun -- March 17, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Waterloo public square. Paint the Square Green is a St. Patrick's Day event developed in partnership with the Irish Real Life Fes- tival, and is one event in a series of weeklong celebra- tions. Local Irish band Gae Leonards will be on site to get everyone into the festive Irish spirit and attendees can join in a traditional Irish dance by learning the steps of a ceilidh. Children are invited to visit the arts and craft table to colour some Irish culture colouring pages and design their own Brigid's Cross. � ere will be a fun welly toss competition, and the Beavertails food truck will be on hand selling snacks. Paint the Square Green is a free, all-ages St. Pat- rick's Day event and will run rain or shine. For more information about St. Patrick, and the Paint the Square Green event, please visit waterloo. ca/artsandculture Waterloo Chippers cash calendar results � e Waterloo Chippers recently released a list of its annual cash calendar draw from 2016 in support of the organizations work. January winners were Mario Pinheiro, Brenda Schedewitz, Gerry Dearing, Matt Esch and Jonny Camacho. February winners were Travis Jacobs, Clare Denstedt, Ed Danhousen, Emily Sheppard and Jim Harnack. March winners were Dale Good, Char Para- dis, Karen Moir, Gail Bethune, Steve Schleimer and Eva Ogg. April winners were Dave and Donna Hodg- kinson, Jeannette Lamont, Luis Ona, Heather Robinet and Ben Koebel. May winners were Jason Henry, Rick Bonnsak, Melissa Lambert, Rick Halter and Patrick Bauer. June winners were Brad Bristol, John Shantz, Kathy Jamieson, Len Maher, Ivet Loder and Kelly and Mark lee. July winners were Reilly Johnston, Marilyn and Byron Brown, Lynne Little, Joseph Krochak and Lori Scott. August winners were Jeremy Dueck, Kathy Kunz, Christine Bell, Mike Lidner and Dave Ferguson. September winners were Thomas Shantz, Wendy Zeven, Cecil Groves, Marc Cazabon, David J. Cole and Gerry Dearing. October winners were Kathy and Alex Legg, Joely Johnston, Krista Vanpaemel, Richard Roberts and Dave and Donna Hodgkinson. Novem- ber winners were Ross Schedewitz, Mike Dylke, Nora Sheppard, Mark McDonald and Rene Ocampo. December winners were Kim Scheklesky, Gerry Devost, Brendan Conway, Kat Phillips, Fran Lindell, David Allison and Tammy Kaal-Donald. AROUND TOWN Penderecki String Quartet celebrates 25 years at WLU Jerzy Kaplanek (left), violin, Christine Vlajk, viola, Katie Schlaikjer, cello, and Jeremy Bell, violin, make up the renowned Penderecki String Quartet. They will be celebrating their 25th anniversary as the quartet-in-residence at the Wilfrid Laurier University March 19. SUBMITTED PHOTO