Miami String Quartet Headlines Second Concert of the Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle 2003 Season at Bard College
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—The second concert of the Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle's 2003 season at Bard College, on Saturday, June 14, will feature the Miami String Quartet, recently chosen by the Hartt School of Music to succeed the renowned Emerson String Quartet as quartet in residence. Quartet members Ivan Chan, Cathy Meng Robinson, Chauncey Patterson, and Keith Robinson will perform a program that includes Haydn's Quartet in D, Opus 20, No. 4; Ginastera's String Quartet, Opus 20; and Beethoven's Quartet in F, Opus 59, No. 1. The concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. in Olin Hall.
Praised in the New York Times as having "everything one wants in a quartet: a rich, precisely balanced sound, a broad coloristic palette, a real unity of interpretive purpose, and seemingly unflagging energy," the Miami String Quartet has quickly established its place among the most widely respected quartets in America. The quartet recently completed two years as resident ensemble of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Society Two. In September 2000, it was awarded the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, another indication of the Miami's continuing ascent to the vanguard of today's premier string quartets.
The Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle, celebrating its 53rd season this year, was founded by Helen Huntington Hull and two friends from Staatsburg, New York. They enlisted the help of violinist Emil Hauser, then a member of the Bard College faculty and original first violinist of the Budapest Quartet, to invite performing artists for concerts at the Mills and Vanderbilt Mansions. In 1979 the concert series began its association with Bard College. The HVCMC remains an association of chamber music lovers and a venue that attracts many of the world's preeminent chamber music artists. In 2001, the artistic directorship was assumed by Sharon Robinson and Jaime Laredo of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.
The Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle 2003 series concludes on Saturday, June 21, with a performance by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and violinist Jennifer Koh. They will perform works by Moszkowski, Mozart, Ravel, and Schumann.
These performances are made possible, in part, through the generosity of the Homeland Foundation and the Leon Levy Foundation at Bard College. Individual tickets are $25; senior citizens, $15; and students, $5. For further information call 518-537-6665.
About the Miami String Quartet Members:
Ivan Chan became first violinist of the Miami String Quartet in 1995. Chan has received top prize in numerous competitions including the Third Quadrennial Indianapolis International Violin Competition, Ima Hogg Young Artist Auditions, Washington International Competition, and Julius Stuiberg Auditions.
Violinist Cathy Meng Robinson is a founding member of the Miami String Quartet. She has performed throughout the United States and Europe as a member of the quartet, which has won numerous awards since its inception 1988. Solo appearances include performances with the Deerfield Beach Symphony, West Palm Beach Symphony, and Greenville Symphony.
Violist Chauncey Patterson joined the Miami String Quartet in 1990. Prior to this, he held the post of principal viola with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra, Eastern Philharmonic, Blossom Festival Orchestra, and Colorado Philharmonic.
Cellist Keith Robinson, a founding member of the Miami String Quartet, has been active as a chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist since his graduation from the Curtis School of Music. Prior to founding the quartet, he was a member of the Thouvenal and Montani Quartets. Robinson has had numerous solo appearances with orchestras throughout Texas and Florida. He won the P.A.C.E. "Classical Artist of the Year Award" in 1989. Hailing from a musical family, his siblings include Sharon Robinson of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, and Hal Robinson, principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
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(5.19.03)