Cor-Tet History
Cor-Tet began at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the fall semester of 2019. In the midst of other ensemble rehearsals, homework, pursuing improvement on the horn while studying under Dr. Abagail Pack, and various musical commitments outside of the school, the four of us started reading music together. Whether we were reading pieces we'd accumulated over more than 60 cumulative years dedicated to studying music, hymns from old hymnals, standard 4-part Bach chorales, or improvising on lines from popular music and musicals, we enjoyed playing together enough that we never stopped.
Cor-Tet was named with much shouting and laughter during an early rehearsal, after some of our awful attempts at reading German texts out loud sent the entire group into hysterics. We tinkered with a few names, one favorite being "Hilfen Horns," as "hilf" or "hilfen" translates from German to the word "help." While bemoaning the difficulty of coming up with a name that wasn't overdone or currently in use anywhere around us, and with much lobbying to just call ourselves "Quartet" and be done with it so we could focus on the music, "Cor-Tet" was swiftly born. "Cor" is the French word for "horn" (which we thought fitting for an ensemble of instruments that have widely been called French Horns... well... forever...), but we also fell in love with the name because of its root in the Latin "cor" meaning "heart."
The entire purpose of Cor-Tet is to try and share some emotional story through our music. Music is truly a universal language, and is a part of humanity's collective experience since the dawn of time. Music is a part of all the occasions of our lives, from birthdays to funerals, conflicts to romance, and break-ups to marriages. No one's individual "lens" has not been shaped by music in some way, and it is our sincere hope that, whoever you are and wherever you're from, we can provide you with music that speaks to you and lets you feel some small part of the life, loss, triumph, defeat, challenge, and solace that are inextricable from this adventure we call life.
Cor-Tet was named with much shouting and laughter during an early rehearsal, after some of our awful attempts at reading German texts out loud sent the entire group into hysterics. We tinkered with a few names, one favorite being "Hilfen Horns," as "hilf" or "hilfen" translates from German to the word "help." While bemoaning the difficulty of coming up with a name that wasn't overdone or currently in use anywhere around us, and with much lobbying to just call ourselves "Quartet" and be done with it so we could focus on the music, "Cor-Tet" was swiftly born. "Cor" is the French word for "horn" (which we thought fitting for an ensemble of instruments that have widely been called French Horns... well... forever...), but we also fell in love with the name because of its root in the Latin "cor" meaning "heart."
The entire purpose of Cor-Tet is to try and share some emotional story through our music. Music is truly a universal language, and is a part of humanity's collective experience since the dawn of time. Music is a part of all the occasions of our lives, from birthdays to funerals, conflicts to romance, and break-ups to marriages. No one's individual "lens" has not been shaped by music in some way, and it is our sincere hope that, whoever you are and wherever you're from, we can provide you with music that speaks to you and lets you feel some small part of the life, loss, triumph, defeat, challenge, and solace that are inextricable from this adventure we call life.
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