Classical art music has a strong association for many people with the grand concert halls and academies, cornered into a rarefied position within contemporary culture. The String Quartet Sessions collective recognise the detrimental effect of this attitude, which can act as a barrier for younger generations to engage with the music. Christine Natsumi Daly, who plays violin in the collective, came onto Frantic Items to discuss the necessity for the quartet performances to take place in varied size venues across the city, ideally spaces that have no previous connection to the classical scene, as an act of democratising the art form. Along the way Natsumi Daly grapples with the ironic sensibility of postmodern youth culture conflicting with the sincerity of emotional tone in classical composition.

String Quartet Sessions will be performing each Saturday in August at the Uptown Jazz Cafe in Fitzroy.