Give Now  »

IU Summer Music Festival: Sarah Kapustin And The Rubens Quartet

Sarah Kapustin brings her Rubens Quartet to IU's Jacobs School of Music's Summer Music Festival for their first time this summer. For her, it's a homecoming.

A graduate of the Jacobs School, Kapustin got her grounding in quartet playing as a member of School's Dubinsky Quartet. "I and three friends from Wisconsin actually got together and played for Mr. Dubinsky while we were still in high school. Then we came to IU, and stayed together all four years."

Since then, Kapustin went on to a career as a soloist and chamber music player. She's been a frequent summer visitor. "I always enjoy coming back to Bloomington. And this summer I'm very pleased that I've convinced my partners in the Rubens Quartet to join me."

Finding Their Place

Given that there are many young and established quartets playing today, Kapustin has given some thought to how the Rubens Quartet can carve out its own niche. One way to do that is by developing new repertoire.

"Of course, like all quartets, we do play the standard repertoire: Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms. But we actually have our own composer too. He's a young guy, Joey Roukens. He's just twenty-seven, but he's already establishing himself. At IU we're playing his Earnest and Game. It's a really neat piece and we're the only group that has it at this time."

"In addition, we're also pretty creative in the places we choose to play and in the audiences that we play for. Concert halls, yes! But we're also active in churches, schools and community centers. We play for children, for adults, and for older adults as well."

Support For Indiana Public Media Comes From