When a family has 10 children who all study music, it’s natural that some of them might form an ensemble. In the case of the Dickson family, 4 of them not only formed a string quartet, but all entered college at the same time, halfway across the country.
Ashley, Brandon, Benjamin and Daniel Dickson make up the Dickson String Quartet. They came to the attention of the Arianna String Quartet, the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, while participating in a workshop in Florida. The Arianna members were so taken by the Dicksons that they arranged for scholarships for them to attend the University of Missouri – St. Louis. The Dickson siblings had all been home schooled, so it was quite a change to move from Battle Ground, Washington to St. Louis and enter a public university as freshmen. However, their situation became less daunting when their parents decided to move the entire family to St. Louis.
At UMSL, the Dicksons have thrived with the Arianna String Quartet serving as mentors and teachers and they have participated in additional musical ensembles. Three of the four siblings will graduate in May and will be off to graduate school.
The Dickson String Quartet will perform in the University of Missouri – St. Louis’ Martin Luther King Observance on Monday, January 21. The members of the quartet were Steve Potter’s guests on “Cityscape.” They talked about life in a large family, making music together, their experience at the University of Missouri – St. Louis and the legacy of Martin Luther King.
Related Event
University of Missouri - St. Louis MLK Observance, “50 Years of Fulfilling the Dream"
Monday, January 21, 2013
10:00 a.m.
UMSL's Touhill Performing Arts Center
(314) 516-4949
