[Marian
Anderson String Quartet]
“The
critically acclaimed Marian Anderson String Quartet will perform
chamber works by American, Latin American, and European composers at
Occidental College on Friday, March 2. The 7:30 p.m. concert is free
and open to the public.”
The College's 2012 G. William Hume Fellow in the
Performing Arts, the Marian Anderson String Quartet is an all-female,
African-American ensemble that has played at presidential
inaugurations, New York City's venerable Alice Tully Hall, and the
Library of Congress. Driven by its belief in the power of education,
the ensemble has also performed at soup kitchens, churches, and
prisons. In 2000, the group was awarded a grant from the Texaco
Foundation to bring music to rural communities in the south and
southwestern United States.
Critics have lauded
the quartet-whose name honors contralto Marian Anderson, one of the
20th-century's greatest classical singers--for its "great tonal
beauty," "big sound and bold theatricality," and
"impassioned, powerful lyricism." In 1991, the quartet won
the International Cleveland Quartet Competition, the first
African-American ensemble to win a classical music competition.
The ensemble's four
members-first violinist Marianne Henry, second violinist Nicole
Cherry, violist Diedra Lawrence, and cellist Prudence McDaniel-are
graduates of music conservatories such as Juilliard and the Manhattan
School of Music. Currently on the music faculty of Blinn College in
Bryan, Texas, the ensemble has been quartet in residence at Cal State
L.A., Texas A&M University, and the City College of New York. In
addition, the Marian Anderson String Quartet has toured
internationally, and its members have served on the faculty of
universities across the country.
"The Marian
Anderson String Quartet has an unparalleled gift for communication,
both musical and personal," said Irene Girton, associate dean
and head of the music department at the College. "Their
performance will certainly be inspiring on many levels."
The
ensemble's March 2 program, "Not the Same Ol' Song and
Dance," promises more dynamism and technical brilliance.
Included are works by African-American composers William Grant Still
and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, which give a nod to Latin American
dance and traditional Negro spirituals; a modern piece by Argentinean
composer Astor Piazzolla; and a string quartet by Felix Mendelssohn
written when the 19th-century composer was just 18 years old.
The Marian Anderson
String Quartet will perform in Herrick Chapel on the College campus,
located at 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, 90041.
[William
Grant Still (1895-1978) and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004)
are profiled at AfriClassical.com, which features a comprehensive
Works
List for each composer by Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma,
http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com]
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