String group brings new possibilities

MARQUETTE — Every Thursday in June, we will be highlighting a band that rocks the U.P. ABC 10’s Caleb Scanlon will be bringing you these featured bands each week. Up first, a look at the band Eclettico.

This is not your ordinary string arrangement. Eclettico is made up of Matt Mitchell and Sonja Prychitka on violin, Victoria Gabrielsen on viola, Alexis Mahler on cello, Harry South on bass and Bud Clowers playing percussion. Each member of the sextet is an intelligent and classically trained musician that yearns to stretch the boundaries of what you would typically expect out of a string group.

“I think we give people an opportunity to listen to music differently than they’re used to,” said General Manager Alexis Mahler, “a lot of people come to our shows to hear classical music and they’re surprised and end walking away like our covers better than our classical stuff and then other people come to hear our covers and they have their first experience listening to classical music. It gives everybody a new listening experience. That’s our goal, to open people’s minds up to the possibilities of what our instruments can sound like.”

Eclettico has shared their musical talents with audiences in the Midwest and Hawaii. Members of the group have performed internationally in France, Germany, and China.

When watching Eclettico, expect to hear a vast range of music that isn’t normally heard being played by string combo groups from The Beatles, to The Animals, to modern hits like Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

This band continues to impress its audiences with a unique and refreshing take on how music can be played. Eclettico has grown in popularity and experience over the years, but has recently chosen a more compact line–up to engage new opportunities.

“We sort of did a scale back in the size of the group itself so it’s more independent,” said violinist Matt Mitchell, “each part is a sole member, but we’re doing as much work with other bands as we can even though we’re not increasing our numbers.”

Eclettico recently played with the musical talents of local singer Michael Waite at the Ore Dock in Marquette and has plans to continue collaborate with other groups from around the U.P. To find upcoming performances and all things Eclettico, click here.