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JUILLIARD PRESENTS TWO FREE CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERTS FEATURING THE
‘BEST OF’ THIS YEAR’S JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET SEMINAR
FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2014 AT 3:30 PM AND 7:30 PM IN PAUL HALL AT JUILLIARD
After a Week of Coaching Works by Bartók, Beethoven, Britten,
Debussy, Dvořák, Janáček, and Mendelssohn with the Juilliard String Quartet,
The Aeolus, Argus, Omer, and Orava String Quartets Choose One Work Each to Perform in Concert
Juilliard presents the ‘best of’ this year’s Juilliard String Quartet Seminar Week of coaching and rehearsing with two FREE concerts on Friday, May 23, 2014 at 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM in the School’s Paul Hall. The annual week-long seminar, which coincides with The Juilliard School’s commencement week, brings promising string quartets from across the country and this year, one quartet from Australia to Juilliard, where they receive intensive coaching with members of the Juilliard String Quartet. Each ensemble works with two members of the Juilliard String Quartet in two coaching sessions per day covering quartet repertoire and technique. Ample time to rehearse and interact is included in their schedule. The Aeolus, Argus, Omer, and Orava string quartets have been selected to participate in this year’s seminar. The Aeolus Quartet is Juilliard’s graduate resident string quartet, and they are concluding their first year of the Lisa Arnhold Residency at Juilliard. The Aeolus Quartet makes its NYC debut on Monday, May 5, 2014 at 8 PM in Alice Tully Hall on Juilliard’s Lisa Arnhold Memorial Recital.
The quartets have chosen specific works for their coaching during the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, and this year’s repertoire includes: Bartók’s String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85; Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 and String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132; Britten’s String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25; Debussy’s Quartet; Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105, B. 193; Janáček’s Quartet No. 1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’; and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, Op. 80.
At the end of the week, the best works are selected for the two free concerts on Friday, May 23, 2014 at 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM in Juilliard’s Paul Hall (155 West 65th Street) that mark the close of the 2013-14 performance season at Juilliard.
No tickets are required for these FREE concerts. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to events.juilliard.edu.
About the Aeolus Quartet
Praised by The Strad for their “high-octane” performance, the Aeolus Quartet is among the finest young string quartets performing today. Violinists Nicholas Tavani and Rachel Shapiro, violist Gregory Luce, and cellist Alan Richardson formed the Aeolus Quartet in 2008 at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Since its inception, the all-American quartet has been awarded prizes at nearly every major competition in the United States and performed across the globe with showings “worthy of a major-league quartet” (Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News).
Grand Prizewinners of the 2011 Plowman Chamber Music Competition and 2011 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, the Aeolus Quartet was awarded first prize at the 2009 Coleman International Chamber Ensemble Competition, a silver medal at the 2011 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition, and a bronze medal at the 2010 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition in New England. The 16th Annual Austin Critics’ Table named the Aeolus Quartet their 2010-11 “Best Ensemble.” The Aeolus Quartet has released two critically acclaimed albums of classical and contemporary works through the Longhorn/Naxos label which are available on iTunes, Amazon, and major retailers worldwide.
The Aeolus Quartet has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Reinberger Recital Hall at Severance Hall, Merkin Hall, The Library of Congress, Renwick Gallery, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center. The Quartet’s 2013-14 season included multiple performances on the Smithsonian Institute’s rare instrument collection, an educational tour of the Midwest in conjunction with the Fischoff Competition, concert touring throughout the United States, and residencies in North Carolina and at the Austin Chamber Music Center’s Summer Festival. This summer, the Aeolus Quartet will serve as faculty-artists at the Summer Piano and Chamber Music Institute (SPCM) at George Washington University.
Dedicated to bringing music into the community, the Aeolus Quartet has been widely recognized for their highly innovative and engaging outreach programs. The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association awarded the Aeolus their 2013 Educator Award in acknowledgment of the positive impact their educational efforts have had in diverse communities. Additionally, they were awarded the 2012 Lad Prize which culminated in large-scale community engagement work, performing in the Stanford area, and a master class residency at Stanford University. The Aeolus Quartet has also served as teaching faculty at Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY), the Austin Chamber Music Workshop, and Da Camera of Houston’s Music Encounters Program. Working in collaboration with the University of Texas through the Rural Chamber Music Outreach Initiative, the Quartet has presented educational programs and performances in communities throughout the state of Texas.
The Aeolus Quartet has studied extensively with the Miró, Guarneri, and Juilliard quartets. Other mentors include artists such as William Preucil, Peter Salaff, Donald Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, Gerhard Schulz, and Mark Steinberg. Members of the Quartet hold degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the University of Texas at Austin, where they served as the first graduate string quartet-in-residence.
The Quartet is named for the Greek god Aeolus, who governed the four winds. This idea of a single spirit uniting four individual forces serves as an inspiration to the members of the Aeolus Quartet as they pursue their art. For further information, visit the Aeolus Quartet’s website at: http://www.aeolusquartet.com/.
About the Argus Quartet
The Los Angeles-based Argus Quartet formed in the summer of 2013 and already maintains an active concert schedule, both in the U.S. and abroad. In their short time together, the Quartet has been invited to perform on several concert series, including Laguna Beach Live! and the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. They have worked with chamber musicians Clive Greensmith, Paul Katz, Donald McInnes, and Peter Salaff.
Beyond its commitment to performing chamber music at the highest level, the Argus Quartet aims to engage audiences in unique ways – performing in clubs, giving casual home concerts, presenting storytelling along with music, live-tweeting performances, and presenting visual media.
The Argus Quartet is deeply committed to contemporary music, and much of their repertoire consists of new works. The Quartet collaborates closely with composers through rehearsals, workshops, and master classes. The pieces premiered by the Argus Quartet run the compositional gamut: from indeterminate works, to electronic music, to new music choreographed with dance.
Outreach is at the core of the Argus Quartet’s mission. The Quartet has designed and implemented a long-term education program at the Renaissance Arts Academy, an arts charter school in Southern California where they were the string quartet-in-residence. Centered around chamber music, the program exposes students to a range of repertoire from Beethoven to Philip Glass, capitalizing on the amazing musical and social benefits of small-ensemble communication and collaboration. For more information, visit the Argus Quartet’s website at argusquartet.com.
About the Omer Quartet
The Omer Quartet was named the 2013 Grand Prize and Gold Medal winner of the 40th Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. As part of their award, they completed an eight-concert tour in the Midwest last October and will make several concert appearances in the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy this summer. In addition the Omer Quartet has upcoming engagements with the Fontana Chamber Arts Summer Series in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as well as a four-week residency at La Jolla Summerfest.
Formed in 2009, the Omer Quartet recently completed chamber music studies as the apprentice string quartet at the Cleveland Institute of Music and was awarded the Dr. Bennett Levine Chamber Music Award. In addition to performing at the Institute, for the past two years they were the Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s quartet-in-residence for which they performed on the society concert series and presented student programs in Cleveland-area schools.
The Omer Quartet has participated in the Robert Mann String Quartet Institute at the Manhattan School of Music, Aspen Music Festival’s Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop and the Banff Centre Chamber Music Residency. They were re-invited to the Banff Centre in 2011 to give a world premiere of a new work for percussion ensemble and string quartet by Bob Becker. Since its inception, the Quartet has worked closely with the Cavani Quartet, Peter Salaff, Earl Carlyss, Mark Steinberg, and Donald Weilerstein, as well as performed in master classes for members of the Takács, Jupiter, Emerson, Miro, and Juilliard quartets.
As avid educators the Quartet devotes time to creating original interactive and educational programs. The group performs at schools, hospitals, college classes, and unconventional venues to engage audiences through the exploration of the string quartet medium. In addition the Omer Quartet has presented master classes for ensembles across the country, including the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, Midwest Young Artists, Valparaiso University, and Palm Beach Atlantic University. The Quartet is based in New York City and currently studies with Samuel Rhodes and Earl Carlyss at The Juilliard School.
About the Orava Quartet
Praised by the Sydney Morning Herald for their ‘warmth of sound, sublime inner-voicing and spontaneity,’ the Orava Quartet is emerging as one of Australia’s most exciting chamber music ensembles. Founded in 2007, the Orava Quartet consists of brothers Daniel Kowalik (violin), and Karol Kowalik (cello), and is completed by David Dalseno (violin) and Thomas Chawner (viola).
Orava is currently the graduate quartet-in-residence at the University of Colorado, where they work closely with the world renowned Takács Quartet. The Orava Quartet has held residencies at the Banff Arts Centre in Canada and the Bundanon Artist in Residence Complex in Australia. They have also studied with members of the Emerson, St. Lawrence, Schoenberg, Jerusalem, Australian, Brentano, Juilliard and Goldner string quartets. In Sydney, Orava is mentored by prominent musical educators Uzi Wiesel, Ole Böhn, and Janet Davies.
Based in Sydney, Australia, the Orava Quartet has performed in the United States, Canada, China, Philippines, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong. The Quartet regularly performs at festivals including the Musica Viva, The Sydney Vivid, Bellingen, Crossroads, and Chinese Gardens music festivals, and has performed for Queen Sofia of Spain and Pope Benedict XVI. In 2010 the Orava Quartet completed a highly successful tour of Asia for Musica Viva with world-renowned didgeridoo performer and composer William Barton. Orava has also been featured on 2MBS-FM’s Rising Stars on-air program, and as part of the Musica Viva Rising Stars Series.
Orava recently won the Musica Viva Australia Tony Berg Award for Most Outstanding Australian Ensemble, as well as the Peter Druce Audience Prize at the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne, Australia. They have also received generous support from the University of Colorado, the Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, PPCA Performers’ Trust Foundation, the Australian Music Foundation, Ernest Llewellyn Scholarship, Ian Potter Cultural Trust, The Australia Council for the Arts, and Ars Musica. For more information, visit the website at www.oravaquartet.com.
JUILLIARD STRING QUARTET SEMINAR, MAY 19-23, 2014
Featuring Four String Quartets and Culminating in Two FREE Juilliard Concerts
FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2014 AT 3:30 PM AND AT 7:30 PM
Juilliard’s Paul Hall (155 West 65th Street, 1st Floor, NYC)
Participating String Quartets:
Aeolus Quartet
Argus Quartet
Omer Quartet
Orava Quartet
Program to include works selected from this repertoire:
BARTÓK String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85
BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132
BRITTEN String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25
DEBUSSY Quartet
DVOŘÁK String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat Major, Op. 105, B. 193
JANÁČEK String Quartet No. 1, ‘Kreutzer Sonata’
MENDELSSOHN Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, Op. 80
FREE; no tickets are required. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to events.juilliard.edu.
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