Residency with san diego's art of elan
RESIDENCY WITH SAN DIEGO'S ART OF ELAN
01/24/2019
We are thrilled to announce our partnership with the San Diego-based Art of Elan series as their third Ensemble-in-Residence. The Ensemble-in-Residence program is an opportunity for this innovative classical music organization to establish a two-year partnership with groups whose mission and projects align with the mission of Art of Élan. The residency includes performance opportunities, commissioning opportunities, and possible recording support.
The Kontras Quartet first came to San Diego in April of 2018 to perform with legendary jazz musician Branford Marsalis on an Art of Élan concert at The Music Box, which featured the world premiere of a commissioned work written by Dan Visconti.
In its new role as Ensemble-in-Residence for 2018 - 2020, KQ will return to San Diego twice to perform at the San Diego Museum of Art (February 22) and with Malashock Dance at the Lyceum Theatre (May 31-June 2) for their presentation of High Strung. They will also aid in Art of Élan's newly established Community Engagement projects at the Centro de Artes Musicales in Tijuana.
Art of Élan is supported by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the County of San Diego, the California Arts Council, the Clare Rose Foundation, the generosity of numerous individual donors and board members, and Art of Élan's Luminaria Circle, which supports the commissioning of new works.
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THE KQ FAMILY GROWS
09/01/2018
Since our founding in 2009, first violinist Dmitri Pogorelov has inspired us with his passionate artistry, his warm heart, his poise and grace, both onstage and off. After nine years of devoted commitment to the KQ cause, the time has come for him to enter a new chapter in his career. Although we will all miss Dmitri dearly as he transitions from quartet to orchestra, we are excited to welcome a new voice to the KQ sound and family, one that belongs to Eleanor Bartsch!
Violinist Eleanor Bartsch is an active orchestral and chamber musician based in Chicago. She is currently Concertmaster of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, Associate Concertmaster of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and a performing member of the Chicago Philharmonic / Joffrey Ballet Orchestra where she frequently serves as Concertmaster, Associate Concertmaster, and Principal Second Violin. Ms. Bartsch also performs regularly with the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the Milwaukee, Nashville and Cincinnati Symphonies, and the Minnesota Orchestra.
As a founding member of Madison's Willy Street Chamber Players, Eleanor maintains a passion for chamber music and community. She is also a member of The Chicago Ensemble, the Elgin-based Apas Piano Trio, and has appeared recently with both the Grammy-nominated Spektral Quartet and multiple Grammy award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird.
Eleanor holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was a Paul Collins Distinguished Graduate Fellow and studied with David Perry and Felicia Moye. During her studies she was a member of the Madison Symphony and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
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KQ & BRANFORD MARSALIS PREMIERE NEW QUINTET
04/03/2018
On April 8, a one-night only special presentation of “Highways & Byways” will feature a lineup including a world premiere by acclaimed young Chicago composer Dan Visconti, the Chicago-based Kontras Quartet, and legendary jazz artist Branford Marsalis, at Music Box, the premiere concert venue in downtown San Diego.
The show will include the world premiere of “Beg, Borrow or Steal,” composer Dan Visconti's quintet for string quartet and saxophone, which Kontras and Art of Élan co-commissioned. This special collaborative concert includes pieces that are rooted in various folk traditions, tying together the old and new, the familiar and less-traveled, the classical and jazz/blues traditions.
- Erwin Schulhoff - Duo for Violin & Cello
- Heitor Villa-Lobos - Assobio a Jato ("The Jet Whistle") for Flute & Cello
- Dan Visconti - Black Bend
- Osvaldo Golijov - Tenebrae
- Dan Visconti - Beg, Borrow or Steal
- Adolph Busch - Quintet for Alto Saxophone & String Quartet
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KQ MAKEs OUR INTERNATIONAL DEBUT
03/16/2017
The Kontras Quartet is coming to the Vrystaat Arts Festival in Bloemfontein, South Africa in July 2017! Our first international tour has been made possible by a generous grant from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
About the Vrystaat Arts Festival
The Vrystaat Arts Festival • Kunstefees • Tsa-Botjhaba is an Afrikaans language festival that forges creative connections with English and Sotho cultures. The VAF contributes to the exchange of ideas around arts, culture and society through connections with other national and international creative communities.
This year's festival takes place from 18 to 22 July at the Bloemfontein campus of the University of the Free State.
Our Sincere Thanks to Our Supporters
This engagement is supported by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
USAI is the only national initiative in the United States solely devoted to supporting performances by American artists at important international cultural festivals and arts marketplaces. USAI provides grants to ensembles and individual performers in dance, music, and theatre, resulting in the promotion of international cultural exchange and the creative and professional development of U.S.-based artists.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. The Foundation is the largest private funder of arts and culture in Illinois, awarding more than $11 million in grants annually to more than 300 Chicago arts groups, part of its overall Chicago Commitment.