Here is 75% of the 99% String Quartet (we were too busy playing to take photos during the concert!)
The debut incarnation of the 99% String Quartet featured the following awesome Boston-based musicians. In addition to playing for the 99% at Occupy Boston, they also play for such far-flung projects as the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, A Far Cry, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Portland Symphony, Old Post Road, A Bird a Day, and the Ligeti Project.
Sharon Cohen, violin"I was playing for democracy, in celebration of our right to raise our voice when the system does not work. When change is not initiated by our leaders, it will be initiated by the people."
Sarah Darling, viola"I support Occupy Boston because we need to be engaged in this
together. We need to think about these problems, and we need to think about how we might go about solving them. It's not going to happen on its own."
Michael Unterman, cello
"I have long been frustrated by the issues raised by Occupy Wall Street and the local spin-offs, but have never been courageous enough, or really known how, to do something about it. The pervasiveness of greed, the desparity between the haves and have-nots, the cynicism of the politics, have all been hard for me to understand and accept ever since I arrived here 7 years ago. "Also, in terms of what I thought I could contribute at this moment in time, I felt, as a classically trained musician, that this was an opportunity to show that people from all walks of life support this movement; that while guitars and bongos may be the stereotype, we also play cellos and sax's and flutes and pianos. Ultimately, I hope the notion will be picked up that this movement, and these opinions and feelings, aren't just held by activists, but by the widest range of people."
Shaw Pong Liu, violin
Everyone I know is the 99%, yet most people I know don’t know how to change that. It can feel like we are powerless before the social assumptions and economic practices that allow corporate profit to control our political system, widen wealth disparities, and generally clog the works for solving social problems.
The Occupy movement is incredibly inspiring for calling ALL OF US to be a part of demanding, discussing, and creating solutions. There is no magic bullet or Messiah who will get us out of this mess– this is how democracy is supposed to work (messy, complicated, and all voices at the table).
I’m thrilled to get involved and get my community of musician friends involved in the way we know best – by making beautiful music and sharing it with EVERYONE. I hope that by doing so we show that working together, as hard and time-consuming as it is, is worth it (hint, hint, Congress!).
