Philadelphia Chamber Music Society: Catalyst Quartet & Harlem Quartet [LIVE]
Free (Pay what you can)
Dmitri Shostakovich — Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11 "Prelude and Scherzo"
Kenji Bunch — the still small voice
Jessie Montgomery — Strum
Jessie Montgomery, violin
Karla Donehew-Perez, violin
Paul Laraia, viola
Karlos Rodriguez, cello
Ilmar Gavilán, violin
Melissa White, violin
Jaime Amador, viola
Felix Umansky, cello
Kenji Bunch – the still, small voice (world premiere)
Dmitri Shostakovich – Two Pieces for String Octet
Jessie Montgomery – Strum
Felix Mendelssohn – Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20
A pair of dynamic young American quartets come together in their Society debuts. Sphinx Competition laureates, they present a program featuring Felix Mendelssohn’s famed octet and the world premiere of Kenji Bunch’s the still, small voice, a PCMS-commissioned octet based on Whitman’s poem Election Day, November, 1884.
The livestream will take place at 6pm Eastern / 3pm Pacific.
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About Catalyst Quartet
Hailed by The New York Times at its Carnegie Hall debut as "invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor," the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet was founded by the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Organization in 2010. The ensemble (Karla Donehew Perez, violin; Abi Fayette, violin; Paul Laraia, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello) believes in the unity that can be achieved through music and imagine their programs and projects with this in mind, redefining and reimagining the classical music experience.
The Catalyst Quartet, known for "perfect ensemble unity" and "unequaled class of execution" (Lincoln Journal Star), has toured widely throughout the United States and abroad, including sold-out performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., at Chicago's Harris Theater, Miami's New World Center, and Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in New York. The quartet has been guest soloists with the Cincinnati Symphony, New Haven Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, and has served as principal players and featured ensemble with the Sphinx Organization's featured ensemble, the Sphinx Virtuosi, on six national tours. They have been invited to perform at important music festivals such as Mainly Mozart in San Diego, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Sitka Music Festival, Juneau Jazz and Classics, Strings Music Festival, and the Grand Canyon Music Festival, where they appear annually. The Catalyst Quartet was ensemble-in-residence at the Vail Dance Festival in 2016 and in the 2021-22 season were in residence with San Francisco Performances where they presented the complete series of works from their Uncovered Project. In 2022, the Catalyst Quartet was named ensemble in residence for the Chamber Music Northwest Festival in Portland and for the Met Museum's LiveArts series in NYC.
The Catalyst Quartet members hold degrees from The Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, and New England Conservatory.
http://www.catalystquartet.com/About Harlem Quartet
Harlem Quartet advances diversity in classical music while engaging new audiences with varied repertoire that includes works by minority composers. Their mission to share their passion with a wider audience has taken them around the world; from a 2009 performance at the White House for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, to a highly successful tour of South Africa in 2012, and numerous venues in between. The musically versatile ensemble has performed with such distinguished artists as Itzhak Perlman, Ida Kavafian, Carter Brey, Fred Sherry, Misha Dichter, Jeremy Denk, and Paquito D'Rivera. The quartet also collaborated with jazz masters Chick Corea and Gary Burton on the album Hot House, a 2013 multi-Grammy Award winning release.
http://harlemquartet.com/