CASSIDY HERMAN
Special to The Leader
A quartet that has thrilled audiences in 47 states as well as in the U.K., France, Belgium, Brazil, Canada and South Africa is coming to a concert hall near you. Rosch Recital Hall, that is.
The Harlem Quartet will make an appearance in Fredonia, on Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. This event is presented by Rockefeller Arts Center and the Fredonia School of Music.
The members of the Harlem Quartet are first violinist Ilmar Gavilán, second violinist Melissa White, violist Jaime Amador and cellist Felix Umansky.
The Harlem Quartet has been featured on WNBC, CNN, “The Today Show” and WQXR-FM. The Quartet debuted at Carnegie Hall in the fall of 2006 and has since made multiple appearances.
The New York Times and the Cincinnati Enquirer praised the Quartet for “bringing a new attitude to classical music, one that is fresh, bracing and intelligent.”
In 2009, the Quartet performed for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. In 2013, they won Best Instrumental Composition at the Grammy Awards for “Mozart Goes Dancing.”
“I think it is really cool that The Harlem Quartet is coming to Fredonia because they are known worldwide and they are very well established,” said Madison O’Heir, a freshman violinist.
The ensemble has performed with artists such as Jeremy Denk, Itzhak Perlman, Ida Kavafian, Fred Sherry, Carter Brey, Misha Dichter and Paquito D’Rivera. The quartet also collaborated with jazz artists Chick Corea and Gary Burton. The Quartet and the two worked together on the album “Hot House.”
“I honestly don’t know how people can be as good as them because I’m not even good at keeping tempo and keeping my bow in the same direction as everyone else I’m playing with,” said O’Heir.
The tickets for this event are available through the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center or online at fredonia.edu/tickets.
“It is going to be an amazing experience for me because I have never seen a performance like this ever,” said O’Heir.
The Harlem Quartet will also offer master classes on Sept. 29 at 11:30 a.m. in Rosch Recital Hall, and at 2 p.m. in Rosch, Diers Recital Hall and rooms 1051 and 1075, all located in Mason Hall. During the master classes, members of the quartet will coach students on performance technique and interpretation. The classes are free and open to the public.
If you can’t catch the Quartet on the 28th or the 29th, they will be performing Feb. 8 in New York City. After that they will be in Detroit on May 12. For more information on shows and events, follow the Quartet on Facebook.