Monday, October 4, 2010

MIT Music and Theater Arts Hails 'innovative and daring all-Black and Latino string quartet'

[Harlem Quartet]

Friday October 29
Harlem String Quartet. Turina, La Oracion del Torero; Beethoven, Quartet Op.18 No.3; Wynton Marsalis, At the Octoroon Balls; Billy Strayhorn, Take the A Train. 8pm, Kresge Auditorium. Free.

“Ilmar Gavilan, a native of Havana, Cuba has had a remarkable and fascinating career that has taken him all over the world. Melissa White is a recent graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music where she studied under the direction of Ida Kavafian. Juan-Miguel Hernandez, is the Gold Achievement Award Winner of the 9th National Sphinx Competition 2006 presented by JPMorgan Chase. Desmond Neysmith received his Bachelors at the Royal College of Music and continued his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music
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“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. 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. They are co-managed by Sciolino Artist Management (SAM) of New York City and the Sphinx Organization.” [The Harlem Quartet is an ensemble of the Sphinx Organization, which was founded in 1996 by violinist Aaron P. Dworkin (b. 1970), who is profiled at AfriClassical.com]





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