20th anniversary Celebration

Programs 2025-2026
Fall

HOMELAND
Gabriela Lena Frank | Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout (24’)
Reinaldo Moya | JSQ 20th commission (14’)
Antonín Dvořák | String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 51 (32')

Sounds of one’s homeland have the power to evoke our deepest emotions and cultural legends. Gabriela Lena Frank’s Leyendas, already a canonical favorite of our time, seamlessly blends elements of western classical and Andean folk music into a transportive and thrilling work. Venezuelan composer Reinaldo Moya brings his “beguiling, attractive soundscapes” (San Diego Tribune) to a new work commissioned by the Jasper String Quartet. The program closes with the lush String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51, of Antonín Dvořák, whose passion for capturing the sound of homeland in music inspired generations to come.

LYRIC
Josef Haydn | String Quartet in D major, Op. 76 No. 5 (20’)
Patrick Castillo | JSQ 20th Commission (20’)
George Walker | Lyric from String Quartet No. 1 (8’)
Claude Debussy | String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 (27’)

Four composers spanning four centuries explore the luminous possibilities of the string quartet. The heart of the program features George Walker’s famously stunning Lyric and a newly commissioned work by Patrick Castillo, whose music is lauded as “brimming with a variety of texture and sound that draw you into its world” (I Care If You Listen). Beloved works by Josef Haydn and Claude Debussy bookend this radiant program.

Spring

MONUMENTS
Maddalena Laura Sirmen | String Quartet No. 5 (12’)
Michelle Ross | JSQ 20th commission (14’)
Franz Schubert | String Quartet in G major D. 887 or Cello Quintet in C major D. 956 (50’)

This program opens with works by two extraordinary violinist/composers, written centuries apart. Classical-era composer Maddalena Laura Sirmen and contemporary “formidable composer” (Textura) Michelle Ross bring longing and lyricism to their works in reflection of their own times. The program closes with Franz Schubert’s monumental String Quartet in G Major, a mystical exploration of the complexity of the human condition.

DREAMWALKER
Jessie Montgomery | Break Away (12’)
Brittany J. Green | Dreamwalker (arranged for JSQ 20th Anniversary) (7’)
John Adams  |  selections from John’s Book of Alleged Dances (14’)
Ludwig van Beethoven | String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 127 (38’)

Innovation and creativity come to life in this program of maverick composers. The first half features works by living icons Jessie Montgomery and John Adams and rising star Brittany J. Green, described by The Washington Post as “a creative force of attention-seizing versatility.” Each of these composers finds their singular path in blurring the boundaries of musical styles ranging from hip-hop and bluegrass to twentieth-century modernism. Ludwig van Beethoven’s triumphant String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 127, a breakaway work that was unprecedented in its expansion of the sonic world of string quartets, closes the program.