The genre-defying string quartet, Brooklyn Rider, will return to Memorial Chapel and the Union College Concert Series after their exciting debut last season.
On Thursday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m., Brooklyn Rider will kick off a typically diverse program with the New York premiere of their first group composition, “Seven Steps” which was inspired by Beethoven’s Opus 131 quartet—the final selection of the evening. The program will also include “Quartet No. 3, Mishima” by Philip Glass, “Undiú” by Joāo Gilberto arranged by Colin Jacobsen, “Kol Nidre” by John Zorn and Beethoven’s “String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131”.
The members of Brooklyn Rider are all veterans of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project and have been credited as a group by NPR with, “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st century ensemble.” They challenge themselves to “constantly push our boundaries outwards…with an eye towards making the string quartet relevant to the present generation of listeners. Engaging in this process while grappling with the great canonic works in the string quartet repertoire makes this investment in the present especially exciting to us.”
During the 2011-12 season, Brooklyn Rider celebrates its Carnegie Hall debut at Zankel Hall, embarks on two U.S. tours and makes its first trip to China - with concerts in Beijing and Hong Kong. This past season, Brooklyn Rider appeared at Lincoln Center for the first time as part of the inaugural Tully Scope Festival. They toured Europe with Persian kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor, performed at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, and enjoyed the release of “Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass” on the composer’s Orange Mountain Music label, which was selected as one of NPR Classical’s Best Albums of the Year (So Far).
Individual tickets are $20 or $8 for students. Members of the Union College community may attend for free. For information, call (518) 388-6080 or visit the website.