Local High School String Quartet to Perform at 'IN MY LIFE' Beatles Tribute at Coralville Center for the Performing Arts

When the touring show "In My Life - A Musical Theatre Tribute to the Beatles" comes to the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts on May 24, be on the lookout for two quartets -- not just one.

The Iowa City High School String Quartet has the privilege of joining the professional actors on stage to add an element of orchestral texture to the evening.

Here's the rundown:

The show: "In My Life" is the musical retelling of the Beatles story through the eyes of manager Brian Epstein and features the live music of renowned tribute band, Abbey Road. The band features Chris Paul Overall ("Paul"), Nathaniel Bott ("John"), Zak Schaffer ("George") and Axel Clarke ("Ringo"). Brian Epstein is played by Murphy Martin. The production includes multimedia, period costumes and vintage instruments. It has toured for years, with a critic for the L.A. Times at one point declaring, "The show delivers where it counts, which is to say, the hits keep coming." The show is widely considered by industry insiders to be the most unique Beatles show in decades.

The string quartet: City High School students Esmé Rummelhart, Sasha Chapnick-Sorokin, Sonali Durham and Claire Goodfellow will join the band for the songs "Eleanor Rigby," "Yesterday," "A Day in the Life," "Hello Goodbye," and "Hey Jude." In a special touch, "Yesterday" is played as a scene in which the Paul McCartney character plays the song for the first time for Beatles producer George Martin, with the songwriter explaining that he envisioned a string-quartet accompaniment.

In addition to performing with the City High Orchestra, which has earned Division 1 top ratings in the state large group contest for the past two years, quartet members have been selected to perform with the Iowa All-State Orchestra and the All-State Chamber Orchestra and receive consistently outstanding ratings in the Iowa High School Music Association's Solo and Ensemble competitions. The young musicians have toured internationally with their school orchestra and the Pruecil School of Music to destinations including China, the Czech Republic and Austria. All members belong to the City High String Quartet, which perform at community events and was judged to be one of the top three scores of the state's Solo and Ensemble competition in 2014. Chapnick-Sorokin was Concertmaster of the Iowa Junior Honors Orchestra. Durham is a National Merit Finalist, an Iowa Governor's Scholar, a Hills Bank Youth Leader of Tomorrow, Executive Editor of the CHS newspaper and has been accepted to both Harvard and Yale. All musicians are members of the National Honors Society. Dur

The Iowa City High School Music Department's other achievements: The City High orchestra program has received superior ratings at the Iowa Large Group Contest each year, and City was named a Grammy Foundation Signature School in 2000, 2001, and 2004 for the accomplishments of its music department. Students from the orchestra program have been selected to participate in the Iowa All-State Orchestra, the Honor Orchestra of America, and numerous summer string music programs. In alternating years, the City High Symphony Orchestra tours internationally; recent destinations include the Czech Republic and Austria. The orchestra will perform throughout Ireland in summer 2016. Students from the City High have gone on to successful careers in music, and have attended the Juilliard School and other prestigious institutions after graduation from City High. The City High orchestra program includes Concert Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Pit Orchestra (musicals), and multiple chamber groups and small ensembles.

How the "Beatles" connection was started: The producers of "In My Life" approached City High School Orchestra Director Megan Stucky looking for a talented ensemble which could hold their own with a rock band in front of an audience. The show commonly uses a local quartet to augment the production while on tour.

The quartet's Beatles fans: All quartet members are Beatles fans.

"My summer camp counselors sung the Beatles song, "In My Life" to my cabin before we went to bed and I have the best memories associated with this song," said Chapnick-Sorokin. "I am working as a junior counselor this summer and I can't wait to sing the song to campers."

"'Eleanor Rigby' is my favorite Beatles song and it is a great cello song," said Goodfellow. "I'm excited that we get to perform this song at the show."

"I remember listening to Beatles music with my parents when I was growing up and singing "Yellow Submarine" with my sister when we were tiny," said Durham.

Quartet for hire: The City High School String Quartet performs at community events, including the Tippy School of Business graduation ceremony, a University of Iowa Hospital benefit dinner and the National Honor Society induction ceremony at City High. They may be hired by contacting CHS String Quartet manager Sonali Durham at sonalidurham@gmail.com.

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