House Blend “Open Stages” program
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59, No. 3
Zosha Di Castri: String Quartet No. 1 (2016)
The Ulysses Quartet performs an intimate, limited audience, pay-as-you-wish event, with seating on the theater stage, featuring works by Beethoven and Zosha Di Castri. Sit alongside the quartet for an interactive performance and discussion of one of the classics of the repertoire and a new work by one of the leading voices in contemporary composition.
House Blend is PS21’s annual chamber music series exploring a full range of adventurous music and creative modes of expression, fostering new collaborations specific to our place, venue, and audiences.
This stylistically diverse series surveys cutting edge new music and bold works of the past, creating new contexts for experiencing music in which even the familiar becomes surprising. All programs are developed for our space with an eye toward bringing virtuosic and thoughtful musicians together in genre-defying collaborations. Audiences are invited to go more deeply into the music with open rehearsals, workshops, artist talks, and informal post-concert discussions designed to guide the listener through the mysteries of these daring works. Brewed specially for the audience, House Blend invites listeners to experience vital music in stimulating new ways.
The Ulysses Quartet has been praised for their “textural versatility,” “grave beauty” and “the kind of chemistry many quartets long for, but rarely achieve” (The Strad), as well as their “avid enthusiasm … [with] chops to back up their passion” (San Diego Story), “delivered with a blend of exuberance and polished artistry” (The Buffalo News).
Founded in the summer of 2015, the group won the grand prize and gold medal in the senior string division of the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and first prize in the 2018 Schoenfeld International String Competition. In 2017, the quartet finished first in the American Prize and won second prize at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. They were winners of the Vietnam International Music Competition in 2019. Ulysses garnered a career development grant in the 2016 Banff International String Quartet Competition.
Consisting of violinists Christina Bouey and Rhiannon Banerdt, violist Colin Brookes and cellist Grace Ho, the quartet’s members hail from Canada, the United States and Taiwan. They have performed in such prestigious halls as Carnegie Hall, the Harbin Grand Theatre, Jordan Hall and the Taiwan National Recital Hall. Recent performance highlights include their debut at Carnegie Hall along with appearances at the Chautauqua Institution (New York), Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao (Spain), Ciclo de Cámara y Solistas in Salamanca, the Picasso Museum in Málaga, Teatro Mayor Julio Santo Domingo in Bogotá, Highlands Cashiers Festival (North Carolina), Music Mountain (Connecticut) with pianist Tanya Bannister, Chelsea Music Festival and PS21 (NY), National Gallery of Art (DC), Jasper Arts Center (Indiana), and San Juan Chamber Music Festival (Colorado). The 22-23 season also features their Mexico City debut at UNAM, along with performances for Sociedad Filarmónica in Lima, Gretna Music, Yale School of Music with guitarist Ben Verdery, Kansas City Friends of Chamber Music, Fundación Juan March (Madrid), Sociedad Filarmónica in Valencia, Basel Kammermusik, and Chamber Music Society of Utica (NY). Other notable engagements have included the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Premiere Performances Hong Kong, National Arts Centre (Ottawa), and Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall (Istanbul).
Support for the House Blend Concerts is provided by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the Alice M. Ditson Fund.
