Chamber group Telegraph Quartet performs free concert at Voxman in Iowa City

Most instructors on spring break take a hiatus. However, the members of Telegraph Quartet aren't like most professors, who might be vacationing on a beach. The Ann Arbor, Michigan based string quartet is as dedicated to education as it is to its standard and contemporary repertoire.

Not only will the Telegraph Quartet perform at the University of Iowa's Voxman Music Building Concert Hall, there will be sessions with musicians while the act is on campus during the group's residency.

"Education is so important to us," violinist Joseph Maile said while calling from Michigan. "So we'll be coaching students when we get to the University of Iowa for our spring break. I can't think of a better way than to spend our break by teaching. This works out so well for us since our students (at Michigan) are on their break and what we're doing won't interfere with what we're working on with them."

The reason Maile and violinist Eric Chen, viola player Pei-Ling Lin and cellist Jeremiah Shaw are so interested in education is due to their love of music. For the Telegraph Quartet, a big part of their mission is about keeping their style of music thriving.

"Chamber music is a lot like art in that it's a vulnerable, fragile thing," Maile explained. "In a university setting or in a conservatory, it's the perfect place to stoke the curiosity and interest before people get to that place in life when they're hit with what is practical. We'll be talking about music as a career and how to prepare for competitions and what they should do as professional musicians. We want to share so much with students. We hope student musicians never lose what they're passionate about."

Another way to keep interest at a high level for students is to experience musicians live. The Telegraph Quartet will perform Wednesday at the University of Iowa.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, features a program that includes Kenji Bunch’s String Quartet No. 2 “Concussion Theory,” Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat major, Op. 74 “Harp” and Mieczysław Weinberg's String Quartet No. 6 in E minor, Op. 35

"The Weinberg (piece) is wonderful," Maile said. "Weinberg was a Polish Jewish performer, who fled Poland for Moscow (during World War II) and he had no idea that his mother, father and sister were killed until 1966. His family was distinctly targeted. Weinberg was fantastic. I love the Beethoven piece since you get his gruff nature and his resistance to formality. And then there's Bunch's Concession Theory with the fourth movement, which is called 'Gentle Rain.’ It's a really solid program."

Through this performance, the Telegraph Quartet will present music that explores a wide range of bold emotions and experiences, inspired by dramatic events of individuals, on a national and global scale.

"We're living in a fascinating time right now," Maile said. "There's a lot of tension out there."

However, that's not so within the Telegraph Quartet, which has been intact since forming in 2013. "We have our disagreements like any other quartet or small business," Maile said. "But when it comes down to it, we set aside the baggage and focus on what matters. When we walk onstage we're always there for each other. We know how vulnerable all of this is since that's how it is in music. But we're about giving the music the best possible expression, and it helps to be good with each other."

Telegraph Quartet is devoted to music students. "They are the future of music," Maile said. "So much of what we do is all about them. We hope to have a positive impact on them during our time at the University of Iowa, whether that is when we're talking about music or performing."