The award-winning Marian Anderson String Quartet will conduct a musical residency in Chattanooga, on Feb. 20-22. This acclaimed quartet is the first African-American classical music ensemble to win an international competition. These four women will be hosted by Dr. Jonathan McNair and the UTC Music Department, in collaboration with the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, and will perform a concert open to the public on Friday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall at the UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St. Admission will be $5 per person.
The Marian Anderson String Quartet residency coincides with the Southeastern Composers League Forum, hosted by the UTC Music Department, and coordinated by Dr. McNair, who is president of the Southeastern Composers League. In addition to the Quartet performance on Feb. 21, this Forum will offer six concerts open to the public with free admission, featuring UTC music faculty and students as well as the Southern Adventist University Symphony Orchestra, pianist Walton Lott, and guest artists from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. A complete schedule of concerts may be found at www.utc.edu/SCL.
Additionally, the Marian Anderson String Quartet will offer programs and a master-class at local public schools, as well as a session in which the Quartet will play through and critique new music written by young composers from across the Southeast. This residency is supported financially by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission, the UTC Office for Equity and Diversity, and the Ruth S. Holmberg Chair in American Music. Additional information may be found at www.utc.edu/music, or call 425-4679.
Formed in 1989 as the Chaminade Quartet, this ensemble won the international Cleveland Quartet Competition in 1991. After this achievement, the members sought permission to be named after the famed African American operatic singer Marian Anderson. Ms. Anderson granted permission, and the group continued to make history, performing at New York’s Alice Tully Hall, the Corcoran Gallery, the Library of Congress, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Kilbourn Hall, The University of Southern California and the Chateau Cantanac-Brown in Bordeaux, France. The Quartet’s history includes performances through the Da Camera Society, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 1993, the Marian Anderson String Quartet performed at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center as part of the 52nd presidential inaugural celebration. The Marian Anderson String Quartet is currently on the faculty of Blinn College in Bryan, Tx. In 2010, the Quartet founded the Marian Anderson String Quartet Community Music School, a non-profit organization in Bryan/College Station, Tx.
For more information call the UTC Music Department office at 425-4601 or, see the Music Department website at http://www.utc.edu/music/projects/performances.php.