October 29, 2023 Faye Spanos Concert Hall, University of the Pacific 2:30 pm
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Remember, students and children always get free admission to FOCM concerts. Be sure to check-in at the student ticket table on concert day.
Tesla Quartet
Last appearing in Stockton in 2015 as part of FOCM’s 60th season, the Tesla Quartet is known the world over for their “superb capacity to find the inner heart of everything they play, regardless of era, style, or technical demand” (The International Review of Music). From cutting edge contemporary works to established masterpieces, the Tesla Quartet’s emotive and thoughtful interpretations reveal the ensemble’s deep commitment to the craft and to their ever expanding repertoire. The quartet recognizes the power of their platform to amplify underrepresented voices and to encourage the proliferation of an equitable and just future for society as well as a hospitable climate for posterity.
Remaining true to their ethos, the Tesla Quartet has proved unwavering and resilient in the face of recent global issues. From the safety of their own homes, they overcame technological hurdles in order to cheer on the healthcare heroes of the New York Presbyterian Hospital network with weekly virtual concerts throughout the darkest hours of the pandemic. Addressing the needs of those within the music community, the Quartet commissioned 12 works by composers from across North America in 2020 for their online series Alternating Currents, an homage to Beethoven and a celebration of diverse voices. Tesla Quartet has also helped pioneer ImmerSphere, an immersive augmented reality virtual concert experience, bringing familiar community stages directly into the homes of concert-starved audiences. With renewed hope for a brighter future, the Tesla Quartet is focusing its efforts in the coming seasons on inspiring climate action with the commissions of several works for string quartet that touch on different aspects of the climate crisis and recovery, in addition to premiering Jeff Nytch’s multidisciplinary work decrying deforestation, For the Trees.
In 2018, the Tesla Quartet released its debut album of Haydn, Ravel, and Stravinsky quartets on the Orchid Classics label to critical acclaim. The group released their second disc on the Orchid Classics label in October 2019, Joy & Desolation, a collaboration with clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein featuring quintets by Mozart, Finzi, John Corigliano and Carolina Heredia.
Scheduled Program
Jessie Montgomery, Strum Antonín Dvořák, Selections from Cypresses, B. 152 Leoš Janáček, String Quartet No. 1 “The Kreutzer Sonata” Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 “Razumovsky”
Since its founding in 1956, Friends of Chamber Music has brought world-class classical musicians to Stockton to the delight of audiences from around the Central Valley. From presenting established artists to highlighting up-and-coming musical talents, the range of concert programming we’ve offered over the years has made a positive impact on the state of the arts in our community. We firmly believe that our 67th season continues that work, and we’re excited to share the lineup of the new season with you!
Connected to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Telegraph Quartet formed in 2013 with an equal passion for the standard chamber music repertoire and contemporary, non-standard works alike. Soon after forming, the group was awarded the prestigious 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
With a strong ear for collaboration, Telegraph Quartet has created projects with pianists Leon Fleisher and Simone Dinnerstein; cellists Norman Fischer and Bonnie Hampton; violinist Ian Swensen; composer-vocalist Theo Bleckmann; and the Henschel Quartett. A fervent champion of 20th- and 21st-century repertoire, the Telegraph Quartet co-commissioned John Harbison’s String Quartet No. 6 and gave its West Coast premiere in the fall of 2017 on San Francisco State University’s Morrison Artists Series. In 2018 the Quartet released its debut album, Into the Light, featuring works by Anton Webern, Benjamin Britten, and Leon Kirchner on the Centaur label. The San Francisco Chronicle praised the album, saying, “Just five years after forming, the Bay Area’s Telegraph Quartet has established itself as an ensemble of serious depth and versatility, and the group’s terrific debut recording only serves to reinforce that judgment.”
Last seen on a FOCM concert in 2017 and praised for their “superb capacity to find the inner heart of everything they play, regardless of era, style, or technical demand” (The International Review of Music), the Tesla Quartet brings refinement and prowess to both new and established repertoire. Dubbed “technically superb” by The Strad, the Tesla Quartet has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, most recently taking Second Prize as well as the Haydn Prize and Canadian Commission Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition. Now in its second decade, the quartet performs regularly across North America and Europe, with recent highlights including their debut at New York’s Lincoln Center, a return to London’s Wigmore Hall, and performances at Stanford University’s Bing Concert Hall as winners of the prestigious John Lad Prize. Other recent international engagements include tours of Brazil, China, and South Korea.
The Thalea String Quartet brings their signature vibrancy and emotional commitment to dynamic performances that reflect the past, present, and the future of the string quartet repertoire while celebrating diverse musical traditions from around the world. Fueled by the belief that chamber music is a powerful force for building community and human connection, the Thalea String Quartet has performed across North America, Europe, and China, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Massey Hall, and Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall. The Thalea String Quartet has premiered dozens of new works and have collaborated on new commissions with composers including Paola Prestini, Anthony R. Green, Akshaya Avril Tucker, and Tanner Porter. The Thalea String Quartet is the Doctoral Fellowship String Quartet at the University of Maryland.
VIDA Guitar Quartet brings together four guitarists of exceptional artistry who share a passion for chamber music. Mark Ashford, Amanda Cook, both internationally renowned performers, and Mark Eden and Christopher Stell otherwise known as the Eden Stell Guitar Duo, one of the most innovative guitar duos in the world.
Since forming in 2007 VIDA GQ has performed to critical acclaim in major UK venues including Kingʼs Place (London), The Purcell Room (London), The Sage (Gateshead) and St Georgeʼs (Bristol). They are sought-after festival artists throughout the UK, Europe and North America. Since making their US débuts in Los Angeles and New York in 2012 they have appeared on some of North America’s most prestigious stages for classical guitar, including the Long Island Guitar Festival and the Allegro Guitar Series in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Las Vegas. Their most recent recording “Bachianas” features Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.3 and composers influenced by Bach’s music including Mendelssohn, Villa-Lobos, and new works by composers Howard Skempton and Laura Snowdon featuring a collaboration with saxophonist Amy Green.
Returning to FOCM for the first time since 2018, Strata continues to delight area audiences!
Strata is a coming together of three extraordinary musical talents: Audrey Andrist, piano; Nathan Williams, clarinet; and James Stern, violin and viola. Their combined credits encompass numerous international prizes and performances across four continents including such places as Carnegie Hall, the Marlboro Festival and the Kennedy Center.
Strata brings “deft ensemble playing” and a “talent…that’s worth getting worked up about” to a repertoire that combines the great trio and duo repertoire of the past with an ever-growing body of new works written especially for them over the more than 25 years they have been playing together. Equally capable of winning over an audience with unique renderings of popular music and of making even the most complex works accessible, exciting and meaningful, Strata has received enthusiastic repeat engagements at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, New York’s historic Maverick Concerts and San Francisco Composers Inc, for which they were listed as one of San Francisco Classical Voice’s “highlights of 2005.” They have been resident artists at the Banff Centre for the Arts and appeared in New York City under the auspices of the International Society for Contemporary Music.
