University of Nebraska–Lincoln School of Music in the
Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts

presents

CHIARA STRING QUARTET as Chamber-String-Quartet-in-Residence

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln School of Music has announced the hiring of the Chiara String Quartet as Artists-in-Residence in the School of Music beginning August 2005. Chiara [key-ARE-uh] is an Italian word, meaning clear, pure, or light.

“UNL is delighted with the extraordinary opportunity to have the Chiara String Quartet in residence on our campus,” said Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Barbara Couture. “We know that their dynamic contributions to contemporary classical art music will inspire our students and faculty. This is a premiere opportunity for UNL students and all Nebraskans to enjoy the finest in live classical musical performance. It will be a wonderful experience!”

The Chiara String Quartet (Rebecca Fischer and Julie Yoon, violins; Jonah Sirota, viola; and Gregory Beaver, cello) previously occupied the Lisa Arnhold Residency in the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. They also serve as artists-in-residence for the School of Music's Chamber Music Institute summer program.

Dr. John W. Richmond, Professor and Director of the School of Music, says this opportunity will bring UNL to a new level of prominence and visibility in the worlds of chamber music, string performance, and orchestral music.

“There are very few schools in the U.S. that have both a fine resident string faculty and a separate, internationally renowned resident string quartet. The presence of the Chiara Quartet in our School of Music will position UNL with the University of Texas-Austin School of Music and the University of Colorado-Boulder College of Music in this regard. At UT-Austin, the resident quartet there is the Miro Quartet, predecessors to the Chiara in the Arnhold Residency at Juilliard. It's a very special community of professional music schools that takes this step.”

The Chiara String Quartet's assignment in the School of Music includes teaching and coaching graduate students and experienced undergraduate students in the area of chamber music, along with their continued performance schedule statewide, nationally, and internationally.

“One of the truly exciting aspects of this collaboration is the opportunity to advance chamber music education for our students,” Richmond said. “The UNL Music Faculty recently revised the master's and doctoral degree requirements for our performance majors to mandate chamber music experiences (string quartets and quintets, piano trios and quartets, woodwind quintets, brass quintets, etc.) for all graduate students. The creation of this residency aligns artistically and pedagogically with the initiatives of our faculty.”

The Chiara String Quartet is at the forefront of a new generation of exceptional American quartets. Their recent accomplishments include winning First Prize at the 2002 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and also winning the Astral Artistic Services' National Auditions, thus placing them on the Astral roster of outstanding young artists.

The Chiara String Quartet has performed throughout the United States, including a live concert on National Public Radio's “Performance Today,” an appearance on the Niven Series at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, a performance last month in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, and a performance on the debut season of the chamber series at New York's Neue Galerie. They are also committed to building new audiences for chamber music beyond the confines of the concert hall through performances in schools and communities.

The Quartet is well-known as both an interpreter of the established quartet repertoire and as a champion of new pieces from today's most interesting composers. They have recently launched their own CD series called New Voice Singles with the release of Triptych by composer Robert Sirota. New Voice Singles features world premiere recordings of new works commissioned by the Quartet from master composers. Triptych was commissioned in 2001 and is a powerful tribute to September 11th. It was first performed on September 26, 2002 at the Trinity Church on Wall Street, one of the churches on the periphery of Ground Zero. The next CD in the series, Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by Gabriela Lena Frank, is due to be released this Fall.

Jonah Sirota, violist in the Chiara, indicated how enthusiastic the entire quartet is by this opportunity. “We were pleased and humbled to learn from Dr. Richmond and Dean Giacomo Oliva that this might be an opportunity we could consider. Now that the details are in place, we could not be more excited. We've even crafted a slogan for this promising step in our careers:   'From Lincoln Center to the center of Lincoln!' What could be more fitting?”

For more information on the Chiara String Quartet, please visit the Chiara website at http://www.chiaraquartet.net.