Kaia String Quartet and Fareed Haque | Sculptor Margie Criner

This Valentine’s week, we are turning up the romance with a concert that feels like a love letter in sound. The Kaia String Quartet joins forces with the brilliant guitarist Fareed Haque for an evening that blends passion, virtuosity, and pure joy.

At the heart of the program is Haque’s own Quintet for Guitar and Strings, Op. 60, a piece that showcases his signature blend of lyricism and fire. The journey continues with music by Latin American icons Ricardo Lorenz and Astor Piazzolla, whose tangos are equal parts smoldering and tender. Eduardo Angulo’s El Alevín (The Minnow) adds playful sparkle to the mix, proof that even the smallest notes can carry big emotion.

The night’s visual counterpart is sculptor Margie Criner. From a distance, her works appear sleek and abstract, but each piece hides a lens portal that reveals an entire miniature world inside. These tiny universes explore themes of waiting, traveling, commuting, and dreaming—moments we all share yet rarely stop to notice. Criner’s art bridges design, play, and discovery, inviting viewers to pause, peer closer, and uncover stories hidden in plain sight.

Music that speaks in thousands of notes. Art that asks you to look twice and see more. It’s the kind of Valentine you’ll remember long after the last chord fades. 💖

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