Today we’d like to introduce you to Invoke.
Hello Invoke, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Zach Matteson from Invoke here – Invoke was formed in 2013 by four University of Maryland students busking in the streets of Siena, Italy, for our dinner. We – Nick Montopoli, Karl Mitze, Geoff Manyin, and I – started as a typical string quartet (a chamber group of two violins, viola, and cello), playing standard classical music by famous composers like Beethoven, Bartok, and Mozart. Still, we quickly found inspiration outside the classical world from a bluegrass/classical crossover album, “The Goat Rodeo Sessions,” by Chris Thile, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Stuart Duncan. We were excited to see a new path forward (away from the traditional classical route). We almost immediately began writing our original compositions, with Nick and Karl picking up the banjo and mandolin (respectively), and the whole group began to sing (it just so happens that our vocal range makes up the standard barbershop quartet). After a couple of years of working together in Maryland, we moved to Austin in 2016 to study with the Miró Quartet at the University of Texas. We quickly fell in love with the expansive musical culture in Austin and, after our time at UT, decided to call it home base. Invoke is frequently on the road, playing at venues around the country like the Public in NYC and the Old Church in Portland, OR, among others, but we continue to try and play here in Austin for the hometown crowd as much as possible.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We’re quickly coming up with 10 years together, which has been challenging. Early on, it was tough to communicate exactly who we were musically as a group, and sometimes it was easy to fall back into our familiar realm of classical music to find gigs. As we’ve aged up, being consistent with our creative process and learning to trust each other more has helped us “stick to our guns” metaphorically and helped us show and tell people who we are and what we do. That trust also extends beyond the music into helping our lives as we’ve grown through deaths in the family, big moves, (ongoing) pandemics, etc. Having such a close-knit group, you’re always supported through those tough spots.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As I mentioned before, Invoke is a String Quartet +. We’ve trained classically as a quartet but, along the way, found ways to incorporate our original musical voice into what is generally a traditional genre. We’re grateful to have been taught and mentored by some of the greatest String Quartets in the world, like the Miró Quartet, the St. Lawrence Quartet, and the Kronos Quartet, but we knew that there was something that had to separate us from all the other quartets coming up through the ranks just like us. Karl and Nick, being composers, helped us with that, incorporating a more singer-songwriter/folk style into the string quartet genre. This has led to Nick picking up the banjo and learning it for the group, Karl bringing back his mandolin chops from his youth, and all four of us learning (sometimes painfully) how to sing together well enough to go toe to toe with our instrumental chops. I think this process has led us to a wholly unique string quartet landscape where there aren’t too many others that look/sound like us, and we’re very grateful that this landscape aligns perfectly with our musical goals and aspirations.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Thanks for taking the time to learn about what we do in Austin. We’ve always got a show cooking up in the area, so if you find yourselves at an Invoke show, come to say hi – meeting new folks around town is a highlight for us!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.invokesound.com
- Instagram: @invoke.sound
- Facebook: /invokesound
- Youtube: /invokesound
Image Credits
Nathan Russell, Sam Colon, Steve Hoffman
