New Millennium Series
This season, the New Millennium Series presents two concerts in place of its usual four.
On Wednesday, February 25, we welcome the Harlem Quartet, which will perform at 7:30pm in the Music Recital Hall. Admission is $20 general, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students. The Harlem Quartet, comprised of First Place Laureates of the Sphinx Competition, has a unique and challenging mission: to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire, highlighting works by minority composers. The group is comprised of Ilmar Gavilan and Melissa White, violin; Juan- Miguel Hernandez, viola; and Desmond Neysmith, cello. The program will include Joaquin Turina's "La Oracion del Torero", Ravel's String Quartet in F, Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train", and Wynton Marsalis' "At the Octoroon Balls".
Dedicated to education, community engagement, as well as to superb classical performance, this innovative and daring all-Black and Latino string quartet serves as Principal Faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts, one of the premier independent arts preparatory schools in the world, and as Visiting Faculty at the Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit. The Harlem Quartet made their acclaimed debut in the fall of 2006 at the Sphinx Organization’s Gala Concert at Carnegie Hall, earning rave reviews from The New York Times, as well as at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem. In addition to being avid chamber musicians, each member of the Harlem Quartet is a seasoned solo artist, having appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Sinaloa de las Artes (Mexico) and Baltimore Symphonies and the Boston Pops, among others.
The Harlem Quartet performance is co-sponsored by California Voices for Diversity. Purchase tickets in advance online or by calling (916) 278-4323.
On Tuesday, April 14, the Kronos Quartet will be performing at 7:30pm in the Music Recital Hall. Admission is $30 general, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students. The Kronos Quartet is comprised of David Harrington and John Sherba, violin; Hank Dutt, viola; and Jeffrey Zeigler, cello. Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 40 recordings, commissioning hundreds of works and arrangements, and garnering numerous awards, including a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and "Musicians of the Year" (2003) from Musical America.
As a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, the Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association has commissioned more than 600 new works and arrangements for string quartet. Music publishers Boosey & Hawkes and Kronos have released sheet music for three signature works, all commissioned for Kronos, in the first volume of the Kronos Collection, a performing edition edited by Kronos. The quartet is committed to mentoring emerging professional performers, and in 2007 Kronos led its first Professional Training Workshop with four string quartets as part of the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall.
The Kronos Quartet concerts is co-sponsored by the Children’s Choice for Hearing and Talking. Purchase tickets in advance online or by calling (916) 278-4323.
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