The Camarada Tango Quartet explored a world of passion, mystery, and beauty in McCrary Theatre. A powerful and smooth melody entranced the audience as the quartet dove into Latino Culture from Buenos Aires, Argentina and brought it to Elon University.
The passionate tango dance was a mysterious obsession with intricate movements on Sept. 14. The group drew attention with a jarring mix of seductive and smooth notes. The Camarada Tango Quartet was founded in 2020 to expand the complex dynamic of the Spanish tango.
This group of extraordinary musicians with unique talents includes Argentinian composer and international bass player Andrés Martín, flutist Beth Ross Buckley, violinist David Buckley, and pianist Dana Burnett.
As the founder and artistic director of the quartet, Beth Ross Buckley pursues her passion as a performer. She said she has worked to find the best venues for her group while expanding into a variety of music.
“We are bringing the evolution of tango music to the world,” Buckley said. “There's something so strong about our tie in our mission.”
Buckley said she hopes to inspire others to pursue their passion for music. She received a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a Master of Music from the University of Minnesota. Buckley said Elon’s community encouraged her to perform.
“This was wonderful, a wonderful hall,” Buckley said. “I always wanted to be a musician. I got the performing bug and I loved the flute. The organizers are fabulous and it was a great audience.”
The remarkable associate artistic director and pianist Dana Burnett expressed her dedication to Spanish music and described the Quartet as a classical chamber music group. She received a Bachelor of Music from San Diego State University and a Masters in Performance from Vanderbilt University.
“We do on tour, which is tango, mixing dance, and we commissioned Andrés to do pieces based on Argentinian folk songs, tango music,” Burnett said. “We love tango.”
Burnett said she visited Elon University in the past, and from a young age, she fell in love with music at Greensboro’s Eastern Music Festival.
“My cousin played piano and my dad took me to the opera in San Diego,” Burnett said. “I just loved piano and Eastern music festivals. We got to solo a lot with orchestra, but I have a big love for chamber music.”
She also said she hopes to perform in Europe by next year and continue her career as a pianist.
Sitting in the audience, the university coordinator of special application processing Madison Pegram ‘23 watched the quartet play in harmony. She said the most memorable moment of the night was an exceptional performance by Andrés Martín: Tango Bajo el Agua.
“Something about that just was very deep and had a lot of emotion in it, which is kind of funny because it's underwater,” Pegram said.
She said she is happy to experience a variety of Spanish cultural dances.
“I didn't know that there was such a wide range of tango,” Pegram said. “How much that even this band has done in the last two years is just amazing. There's a lot of things that I did not know about Tango and being such an important part of Latino culture.”
For more information, visit their website at thecamaradatangoquartet.com or listen to their limited-time edition on Soundcloud.