The internationally renowned, award-winning Ying Quartet is back for its first performance of the 2019-20 season on Sunday, February 2, at 3 p.m., in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. The program will include Franz Schubert’s Quartettsatz, D 703, Kevin Puts’ Dark Vigil (1999), and Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887.
The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world, combining brilliantly communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today’s world. Now in its third decade as a quartet, the Ying Quartet, consisting of Robin Scott, violin; Janet Ying, violin; Phillip Ying, viola; David Ying, cello, has established itself as an ensemble of the highest musical qualifications in its tours across the United States and abroad. Their performances regularly take place in many of the world’s most important concert halls, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. At the same time, the Quartet’s belief that concert music can also be a meaningful part of everyday life has also drawn the foursome to perform in settings as diverse as the workplace, schools, juvenile prisons, and the White House. In fact, the Ying Quartet’s constant quest to explore the creative possibilities of the string quartet has led it to an unusually diverse array of musical projects and interests.
They have been quartet-in-residence at Eastman in 1997. All members of the Ying Quartet teach in the string department as Associate Professors in their discipline, and lead a rigorous, sequentially designed chamber music program. One cornerstone of chamber music activity at Eastman is the noted “Eastman to Go” (formerly “Music for All”) program, in which all students have the opportunity to perform in community settings beyond the concert hall.
Tickets for the Ying Quartet’s performance are $29-40, with $10 student tickets available. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St.; by phone (585) 274-3000; or online at http://eastmantheatre.org
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About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training. The current dean is Jamal Rossi, appointed in 2014.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 130 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy Winners, Guggenheim Fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community.