On Sunday, February 22, the Christ Church Concert Series presents the Serafin Quartet at 4:00 p.m. The concert will take place at the Academy Art Museum located at the corner of Harrison and South Streets in Easton.
Serafin String Quartet debuted at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2004 and has consistently received superlatives in the press and ovations in the concert hall. Their recent recordings on Naxos (2013) and Centaur (2010) have received overwhelming critical acclaim including in Fanfare, The Strad, American Record Guide and Gramophone. The Quartet’s Naxos world premiere recording featuring works by Jennifer Higdon was listed among the “Top Ten 2013 Recordings” in Philadelphia’s City Paper.
New York Concert Review has lauded the Quartet’s live performances for “ensemble and intonation …above reproach,” and described their Debussy as “a shapely, finely conceived account” and their Haydn as having “rhythmic vitality and taut ensemble…”
The Quartet performs frequently around the United States and internationally. Recently, they have performed at a Philadelphia’s Annenberg Center for the Arts, Chamber Music Now (PA), Classicopia (VT), Fanfare (LA), Delaware Chamber Music Festival, and St. John’s Smith Square (United Kingdom), and have been re-engaged for performances at the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival (NC) in June 2015. SSQ has been featured on WHYY-TV, and as repeat guests of Jill Pasternak on WRTI radio’s Crossover.
Serafin String Quartet probes and performs the entire range of repertoire for string quartet, from Haydn to Higdon. They collaborate frequently with internationally acclaimed music performing artists, and with actors, dancers, poets, and experts in other fields. The individual members of the quartet have been heralded around the globe for concerts and recordings, acclaimed in the press, and received international prizes and awards.
As Quartet in Residence for the University of Delaware, and in visiting residencies at colleges, universities and high schools around the nation, the Serafins work with young musicians in a variety of settings including coaching, master classes, workshops, and “informances.” They have developed a unique series of “collage concerts,” and present innovative programs often, including at World Cafe Live (Philadelphia and Wilmington, DE) and at Kennett Flash (PA). The Quartet has been selected to perform a special presentation in Salt Lake City at the American String Teachers Association national conference in March 2015.
Reflecting the Quartet’s egalitarian viewpoint, Serafin violinists share equally the responsibility for playing the first and second violin parts. Serafin String Quartet takes its name from master violin maker, Sanctus Serafin, who in 1728 crafted the violin currently played by Kate Ransom. The other members play Testore instruments from the same era, thanks to generous support from Dr. William Stegeman.
There is no charge for Sunday’s concert, but a freewill offering will be received. The Christ Church concert series is supported in part by the Talbot County Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council. For more information, call 410-822-2677 or visit www.ChristChurchEaston.org.
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