Call & Response

Call & Response About the 2010 Program Ticket Info C&R History For over ten years, the Cypress String Quartet has presented the Call & Response program to inspire audience’s imaginations and expand chamber music repertoire. Each year, the Quartet creates a link between the old and the new by commissioning a composer to ‘respond’ to the ‘callʼ of two masterworks of chamber music repertoire that are in some way related. Following a number of outreach presentations before students of all levels and backgrounds and members of the community, the Cypress Quartet performs the Call & Response Concert at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco's War Memorial Building. Scholarship tickets enable many of the students to attend the public performance free of charge. About Call & Response 2010: For Call & Response 2010, the Cypress Quartet has chosen to explore the mutually inspirational relationship between literature and music. Commissioned to write a new work responding to the inspiration of a work of literature, as with the two masterpieces comprising this year's 'call' - Mozart's Quartet in D Major, K.575 (The Violet) and Schubert’s beloved Quartet in D Minor, D.810 (Death and the Maiden) - noted Boston-based composer Elena Ruehr has chosen the novel "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett as her literary inspiration. About the commission, Ann Patchett says "Having Bel Canto* translated into music was the next logical step for this novel. I feel incredibly fortunate that Elena Ruehr decided to take this project on."* Read more about Ann Patchett and her work Dr. Ruehr was born in Michigan and since 1991 has taught music composition at M.I.T. Her musical influences include an internationally eclectic mix of cultures and genres, ranging from Led Zeppelin to Vincent Persichetti, and Beethoven to William Bolcom. Elena's music has been described as *"a score of vivid aural colors,"* *"complex, full-blown and florid,"* and as having *"a naturalness and beauty that's both purposeful and immediately appealing."* Visit www.elenaruehr.org to learn more about this year's Call & Response composer. Return to top Ticket Information Call & Response will be presented on February 26 2010 at 8pm at Herbst Theatre, War Memorial Building 401 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco CA 94102 (MAP) Get your tickets today! At the door: $40/$25 In advance: $30/$20 Students & Seniors: $10 City Box Office: (415) 392-4400 www.cityboxoffice.com Discount for groups of 10 or more; call the Cypress String Quartet office at (415) 585-9045 for more information. Return to top Call & Response: 11 Years of Inspiration
Commissioned	Year	Piece
Elena Ruehr	2010	Bel Canto
Kevin Puts, NY	2009	Lento Assai
Kurt Rohde, CA	2008	Gravities
Daniel Asia, AZ	2007	String Quartet No. 3, The Seer
George Tsontakis, NY	2006	String Quartet No. 5
Elena Ruehr, MA	2005	String Quartet No. 4
Jeffrey Cotton, NJ	2004	String Quartet No. 1
Jennifer Higdon, PA	2003	Impressions
Benjamin Lees, CA	2002	String Quartet No. 5
Anna Weesner, PA	2001	Flux
Dan Coleman, AZ	2000	quartetto ricercare
The Cypress String Quartet continues to seek out talented composers living and working among us today for potential collaborations in future Call & Response programs or other commissioning opportunities. If you are a composer interested in the prospect of working with the Cypress Quartet, or if you would like to recommend a composer to the Quartet, please send your comments and/or recorded work samples (not necessarily string quartets) in .mp3 format (no midi files, please) to music@cypressquartet.com. Alternatively, please send any CDs or other relevant materials to our office at 912 Cole St. #137 San Francisco CA 94117. Please note: Submitted materials may not be returned. Thank you! Return to Top