A violin’s bright melody soars above the deep, velvety tune of the cello beside it. Moments later, the viola creates a steady bridge between them, as the sound of a second violin puts an entirely new taste on the audience’s tongue.

Then, a clarinet slips through. The wind instrument, unexpectedly pairing with the neighboring strings, threads its own airy voice into the harmony.

For one night this week, that musical unity can be heard as the clarinet and the musician holding it turn a four-member ensemble into a quintet. 

For music lovers of any age, EPIC Concerts will host a performance featuring Ivalas Quartet alongside guest clarinetist Sergei Vassiliev at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Creating a musical experience as engaging for the eyes as it is for the ears, the concert will incorporate diverse music that mirrors the multicultural musicians behind the instruments. 

The four Ivalas members, violinist Reuben Kebede, violinist Tiani Butts, violist Marcus Stevenson and celloist Pedro Sanchez, are known for performing works by underrepresented composers, a mission that has led them to perform on stages across the United States.

“We founded the quartet because we all came from underrepresented backgrounds, and we thought that it was really important for us to perform as a group and do educational things too,” Kebede said. “I think it’s really important to have a diversity of ideas and thoughts in anything in society. Kids need to see people that look like them playing these instruments, engaging with underrepresented composers and bringing their music to the concert hall.” 

With a different set of members initially by their side, Sanchez and Kebede founded the quartet in 2017 after meeting at the University of Michigan. 

Butts later joined the group in 2021, and two years later, a Juilliard School residency landed them in New York, where Stevenson became the final musician to join the four-member ensemble. 

Sanchez, who grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, said his early experiences with music helped shape his commitment to the group, finding solo performances to “feel a little lonely.” 

“I grew up watching the youth orchestras of Venezuela perform, and just seeing the kind of energy the group brought and the kind of movement they had in their performance was something that inspired me,” Sanchez said. “Just seeing how music kind of affects society on such a human level, and a social level, it was just a force that transformed me. Now I get to perform and hopefully make that same impact on audiences with my colleagues.”

According to Sanchez, each member of the quartet has their own story of growing up as a minority, but those differences also shape the way the group approaches music.

“It’s not only diverse in what we look like, but it’s four or five different minds being put together with a common goal and different perspectives,” Sanchez said. “That’s very unique. It’s different people, different brains [and] different opinions being brought to the table. You usually get a very special product.” 

Even the evening’s guest performer shares a similar multicultural story. 

Vassiliev, who also serves as the director of EPIC Concerts, is originally from Ukraine. 

“I’ve always considered it to be a huge strength that it’s such a melting pot in the United States, and we’re able to bring the best things from every culture all over the world,” Vassiliev said. “That’s a real treasure for this country. So, when I got the opportunity to try to add a little bit to that with this music series, of course, that was a no-brainer because it’s great for me, for our audiences and for the world.”

Vassiliev co-founded EPIC Concerts with Larry Jones during the pandemic.

According to Vassiliev, performances that began with an audience of about 30 people have expanded to crowds of more than 200, with this week’s performance nearly sold out.

“Sometimes, these performances where you get together with musicians that you don’t play with often are some of the most fun,” Sanchez said. “The clarinet is one of the instruments from the wind family that can play the softest. That gives room for really beautiful colors to happen between the strings and the clarinet, and we hope audiences get to see that.” 

IF YOU GO

What: Ivalas Quartet with Sergei Vassiliev 

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: Ent Center for the Arts, 5225 N. Nevada Ave.

Price: $5-$44, epicmustsee.org