“The upcoming season at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University’s School of the Arts is aimed exclusively at dogs and will feature performances by the JACK Quartet,” writes Geoff Edgers in Wednesday’s (4/1) Washington Post. “First, watch the video. Because I don’t want to give away the joke. There. Done? … Miller Theatre won’t really focus its upcoming season on dogs.… But Miller, known for its adventurous programming of new music, is really just revealing another side of its artistic arsenal.… The video will be up for April Fool’s Day on Miller’s website.… Who did it? Marketing Director Charlotte Levitt pitched the idea. Executive Director Melissa Smey’s … Westy, Sophie, gets a star turn, as do a group of dogs from the Staten Island Companion Dog Training Club. ‘It’s fun and it’s funny but I do think there’s a connection to our sensibility at Miller Theatre,’ says Smey.… How did they get the JACK Quartet? The universally praised group didn’t need to be begged.… As director Daniel Schloss cuts between the quartet and the dogs sitting politely in the audience, [JACK Quartet violinist Christopher] Otto speaks. ‘Beethoven … might seem old hat to humans, but when you take it up several octaves, there’s really something special to it.’ ”
Posted April 1, 2015
Pictured: Composer Sophie works with the JACK Quartet on the world premiere of her new String Quartet No. 3 at the Miller Theater at Columbia University School of the Arts
