Quartet Sabaku performs chamber music

Although Quartet Sabaku may sound like some strange foreign assemblage, it is really four delightful performers who have merged their talents in the desert (that is what the Japanese word “sabaku” means) to bring fine chamber music to this area. They will be at the next Friends of Music free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Wickenburg Community Center.

For nearly 10 years, their energetic and lively style has delighted audiences at schools and communities across Arizona, and the foursome has participated in a cultural exchange between Arizona and Sinaloa, Mexico.

They blend their four instrumental voices into one and communicate with their audiences through wordless music and active dialogue.

Violinist Cynthia Baker earned two degrees at Indiana University, where she studied violin, harp, and Baroque violin. She has been a member of the Phoenix and Grand Rapids Symphonies, a faculty trio member, and soloist with several orchestras. She is currently a member of the Tucson Symphony and records and performs with the early music ensemble Musica Dolce.

The other violinist with the quartet is Leslie Froeb Turner, who began music studies in Phoenix at the age of 9. Her bachelor's degree in violin performance came from the Manhattan School of Music. Her further training was at the School for Strings, where she later taught on the faculty. Before returning to Phoenix, Turner lived and worked in London, Japan and Holland.

After Karen Black Shields earned her bachelor's degree from Northwestern University, she went on to get a master's in viola performance at Arizona State University, and doctorate of musical arts from ASU. Currently a member of the Arizona Opera Orchestra, Dr. Shields spent eight years in Orlando, Fla., performing solos and chamber music with the Florida Symphony Orchestra.

Cellist with the group is Frederick Chao, currently a member of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and previously the associate principal cellist of the Honolulu Symphony. Fred and his wife flutist Barbara Chao often perform flute and cello chamber works at the Bay View, Mich., Music Festival, where Barbara is the faculty flutist and Fred is an associate artist.

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