"I had come to several of Music Unites events and liked what I saw and what they work towards," says Two -time Grammy nominated violinist Philippe Quint of his decision to partner with the not-for-profit dedicated to bringing music education to children in underfunded inner city schools.
Philippe will be playing Music Unites first concert in their Classical Salon series, taking place at the home of David Grossman and Suzanne Fleur. A young musician himself with training from Juilliard, exposing young people to music of all genres is a priority of his. "I think the most important thing is to introduce young people to classical music at an early age. Their interests depend on what they are exposed to. If they are exposed to jazz, the chance is that they are going to be influenced by jazz. If they are exposed to hip hop, chances are they are going to be influenced by hip hop. It is important to present the whole diversity that music has."
Philippe is an avid music listener himself, describing his iPod as "an enormous salad with many ingredients." He finds inspiration in contemporary artists just like classical legends of the past. "The roots of any current style always lies in classical music. Right now we live in a world of hybrids. A lot of styles are emerging and a lot of artists are collaborating from different genres and backgrounds so what you hear is this incredible fusion of different styles coming and working together."
"It's the same as Mozart or Beethoven in their time," he continues. "They would take a famous folk melody of the time and rework it into a classical composition that the whole city of Vienna would be singing at the time. For me, times have not changed, they have just been modified and adjusted. They have evolved."
For him, the most interesting thing in his career right now is going into a new repertoire and discovering new artists to collaborate. His wish list so far includes artists who have already crossed classical like Sting, Elton Joel, and Billy Joel.
But first Philippe will have to find time. Already having made appearances with the Berlin Komische Opera, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New Jersey, Minnesota, Bournemouth, Indianapolis, China National, Weimar Staatskapelle and Orpheus Orchestras, he will now head to Germany for a few weeks, followed by a US tour to promote his new recording of works by Nicolò Paganini featuring pianist Dmitriy Cogan. Philippe is also a Music Director of Mineria Chamber Music Festival in Mexico City, that he is organizing as part of his own educational outreach to encourage young musicians.
For those in New York, be sure to catch Philippe on September 28, 2010. Tickets are only $50 and can be purchased at www.musicunites.org/events.