Cassatt String Quartet Visits Stevenson

Stevenson’s commitment to cultural enrichment and fun were again on display on December 12th, when the nationally-renowned Cassatt String Quartet gave a lunchtime concert in the school lobby. Casual and informal, warm and chatty with our students, the quartet that the New York Times calls, “The excellent Cassatt String Quartet” played whimsical, colorful gypsy music.

Students listened as they ate and hung out. The atmosphere was artsy and cool. What did it look like? Students passionate about and inspired by these superlative musicians pulled chairs up close to and enwrapped the quartet as they played; others relaxed at tables and lined the lobby walls. The marble stairs made perfect theater seats. Still others lunched on the 2nd floor at their favorite hallway spots near the grand staircase, up which exquisite music soared. Jerry Pavlon-Blum, Director of Program Development, has planned school events with the Cassatt String Quartet for several years, and talks about their return are in the works. Lunchtime concerts have a formidable history in Manhattan, but not in high schools. Stevenson is thrilled to connect the two.