Special Projects
The Artist as Citizen
Commemorating USA 250th Anniversary
A collaboration between tenor Nicholas Phan, pianist Myra Huang and the Jasper String Quartet
Irving Berlin | God Bless America (tenor and piano, 3’)
Charles Ives | Nov. 2 1920 (tenor and piano, 4’)
Erik Malmquist | Fellow Citizens (tenor and piano, 9.5’)
Ralph Vaughan Williams | On Wenlock Edge (tenor, piano, string quartet, 23’)
Vivian Fung | Lamenting Earth (tenor, piano, string quartet, 22’)
"The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.”
– James Baldwin
What does it mean for the Artist to be an engaged Citizen? This program explores the ways that composers and poets have engaged artistically with the political and social events happening during their lifetimes, examining what endures from each of these pieces.
Jasper and Jupiter SQ Octet collaboration
These two acclaimed quartets, joined by bonds of musical discovery, friendship and family, continue their long-lasting octet collaboration. The Quartets’ album together, released on Marquis Classics and produced by Grammy-winner Judith Sherman, features the world premiere recording of Dan Visconti's Eternal Breath (2011); Felix Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat, Op. 20 (1825); and Osvaldo Golijov's Last Round (1996).
INTERACTIVE COMMUNITY CONCERT
Joseph Haydn | Quartet in D Major, Op. 20 No. 4 (25’)
Patrick Castillo | An Inventory of Echoes
Terry Riley | In C
Perform alongside the Jasper String Quartet in this program designed to include musicians and music-lovers of all levels. String players of all levels can share in the joy of rehearsing and performing Patrick Castillo’s An Inventory of Echoes, a string orchestra piece written with parts for beginners, intermediate-level players, and professionals. All audience members are then invited to join for a community performance of Terry Riley’s In C, one of the first masterpieces of minimalism. The Jasper Quartet will lead a brief workshop to prepare participants to perform In C and experience the exuberance and power of communal music-making.
Nicholas Phan Collaboration
Joining forces with celebrated tenor Nicholas Phan in an ongoing collaboration, the Jasper Quartet has adapted selections of lieder for string quartet and voice. Expanding the arrangement not only offers a new perspective on these timeless works but also deepens the color and increases the drama.
Clockwise from top left: Joan Tower, Christopher Theofanidis, Lera Auerbach and Akira Nishimura
Four Seasons | Four Composers
The perpetual flux of our natural world is a universally shared source of inspiration, fascination, and beauty in art. Vivaldi wrote his genre-defining Four Seasons concertos almost 300 years ago and Piazzola, Stravinsky and others followed suit.
This inspiration as a unifying force combined with the four unique perspectives and styles of Joan Tower (Wild Summer), Christopher Theofanidis (Fragile Autumn), Lera Auerbach (Frozen Dreams), and Akira Nishimura (Spring - Azure Dragon) results in a distinctive and inspiring collective work - an artistic convergence mirroring that of the four voices in a string quartet.
Commissioned with help from Arizona Friends of Music , Chamber Music Northwest, an anonymous donor, and the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.