 |
|
|
|
PACIFICA QUARTET Simin Ganatra, violin The Pacifica Quartet is celebrating its 10th anniversary in the 2004-2005 season with its first tour of Japan, its first appearance at Wigmore Hall in London, a performance of all five Elliott Carter quartets for San Francisco Performances, a concert at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the release of the complete Mendelssohn string quartets on the Cedille label, and more than 60 concerts across the country. Rising to prominence soon after its creation in 1994, the Pacifica swept top prizes in three of chamber music’s most important international competitions for young ensembles, the 1996 Coleman Chamber Music Competition, the 1997 Concert Artists Guild Competition, and the 1998 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. In 2002, the Quartet was further honored with Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, giving them concerts in eight of America’s most important venues, and appointment as Resident Quartet of Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Two. For two years beginning in the fall of 2003, this position involves the Quartet in the full range of activities of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, from performances in Alice Tully Hall to community partnerships and leading roles in the Chamber Music Society's educational activities. The Quartet has added Europe to its active touring career, recently playing concerts in Germany, Spain, and Scotland as well as coast-to-coast across America from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Lincoln Center and the Miller Theatre in New York City. They have been featured on several of the nation’s most prominent radio broadcasts, including National Public Radio’s Performance Today, Minnesota Public Radio’s St. Paul Sunday, and Chicago’s WFMT. The Pacifica’s schedule has included appearances at the Aspen, Caramoor, Santa Fe, Bellingham, Music in the Vineyards, Britt, Cape and Islands, and Vermont Mozart Festivals and collaborations with distinguished artists such as Paul Katz, Michael Tree, Ursula Oppens, Wu Han, and the Emerson String Quartet. The Pacifica’s 2003-2004 touring schedule included concerts at Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court in Washington DC, and performances across the country from Boston to Houston to Los Angeles. The Pacifica is an ardent advocate of contemporary music, commissioning and performing as many as eight new works a year. In the past two seasons, the ensemble has distinguished itself with concerts of Elliott Carter’s complete string quartets at Miller Theater in New York City, the University of Chicago, UCLA, the Cleveland Museum, and the Edinburgh International Festival. The New York Times wrote glowingly of the "astounding performances" by the "brilliant Pacifica Quartet," and the Chicago Tribune praised the Quartet’s "astonishing talent, energy and dedication." As resident string quartet for the Contemporary Chamber Players, one of the country’s leading contemporary music organizations, the Quartet presents a series of concerts each year devoted exclusively to new music. In the fall of 2003, the Pacifica Quartet became Faculty Quartet in Residence at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, while continuing as Quartet in Residence at the University of Chicago, where it is the first resident ensemble in the history of the institution. Reflecting its dedication to musicians and music lovers of the next generation, the Pacifica Quartet was instrumental in creating the Music Integration Project, an innovative program that provides musical performances and teacher training to inner-city elementary schools. In addition, the Quartet regularly teaches at summer festivals, including Interlochen Arts Camp, Madeline Island Music Festival, and the Britt Festival in Oregon. The ensemble is also frequently invited for visiting residencies at universities and schools nationwide. Cedille Records will release the Pacifica’s recordings of the complete string quartets of Felix Mendelssohn in early 2005. The Quartet’s earlier Cedille recordings of Dvorak chamber works, including the viola quintet with Michael Tree, and the complete quartets of Easley Blackwood, have been widely praised. Additional information about the Pacifica Quartet can be found at www.pacificaquartet.com. |
||
