MANKATO — Charlie Leftridge and the Carnegie Art Center go together like paint and brushes, so it won’t be shocking to see his work incorporated into Saturday’s Live at the Carnegie event with Twin Cities Bronze and Lux String Quartet.
He serves as artistic manager of Twin Cities Bronze and Lux will be performing one of his original compositions.
“I have a personal grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, and so I was able to offset the cost to partner with the string quartet,” he said of bringing Lux together with Twin Cities Bronze, the handbell ensemble out of Eagan.
“We thought it would be just really interesting and cool, like mixed chamber ensemble to bring to the space. And (Twin Cities Bronze) had performed her before, so we knew that it worked well.”
The rotunda at the back of the building aligns perfectly with how the 12- or 13-member handbell ensemble prefers to set up — in a semi-circle — which allows the self-conducted group members to see each other.
“One thing that I love about handbells in general is that it’s just a very visual musical art form,” Leftridge said. “But especially watching them communicate with other as they’re ringing … it’s very energetic. It’s very engrossing.”
Lux String Quartet is a Twin-Cities based ensemble that has been performing and educating since 2013. Their performances are just as at appropriate in churches and coffee shops as they are in concert halls.
They will be performing a Leftridge original piece that was written for string quartet. It was inspired by Carnegie studio artist Lisa Thome’s weaving, he said, because it has an almost woven sound. It is on display now, along with local artist Dave Ryan’s projections, which will be incorporated into the performance. This is the premier performance of a work Leftridge began during graduate school.
The Mankato appearance is something that Lux String Quartet does regularly, said member Stephanie Skor. It also matches their goal of working with living composers such as Leftridge in performing his composition called “Lietuva.”
“We also focus on 20th and 21st century music,” she said. “So, we work a lot with new composers and current music being written today, like one of the pieces we’re playing (that) Charlie wrote. A lot of people reach out to us (as he did) because that’s our specialty.”
Because composers don’t always write down everything they intend for a piece of music, having a conversation while learning it brings a greater understanding of what is wanted.
The current four members of Lux were not part of it when it formed in 2013, Skor said, though this is the third season with this iteration.
“We always love playing in new spaces. And it sounds like a great place that we might want to be a part of again some other time. It sounds like a great community arts as well as a great concert hall,” she said.
Live at the Carnegie, curated by Mankato musician Liz Draper, continues to draw larger crowds and people who may be making their first trips to the historic Carnegie Library building. Leftridge said he has heard that from at least one or two people for each event.
About 160 people attending the most recent performance by Minnesota roots musician Charlie Parr. Many of them have missed hearing him since Mankato Brewery closed, and the crowd has shown Carnegie staff and board members that the facility can fill many roles in the community, he said.
Performances always include a short presentation by the artists that helps audiences understand who they are and what they do. For the upcoming performance, Leftridge said, people who have never done so could also get the chance to ring one of the 250 handbells or chimes Twin Cities Bronze will bring.
“We have something like 6½ octaves of handbells and seven octaves of chimes, and doubles of many of those. And, you know, the four chimes are taller than I am. It’s a cool instrument.”