The award-winning Montclaire String Quartet will perform live in concert as part of the Blue Mountain Performing Arts Series, Tuesday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bluefield High School Auditorium.
Co-sponsored by Blue Mountain, the Bluefield High School Foundation, Bluefield College and WVVA-TV, the concert is open and free to BMPA season ticket holders and members of the Bluefield College family. Individual tickets for non-BC and non-Blue Mountain members are $15 for adults and $10 for students.
All members of the West Virginia Symphony and celebrating their 27th season as West Virginia’s premier string quartet, the Montclaire String Quartet will present a program of contemporary works and pieces from West Virginia composers, along with music from around the world.
Comprised of violinists Cristian Fatu and Jennifer Wood, violist Bernard Di Gregorio, and cellist Di Gregorio, the quartet is a previous prizewinner of the Evian International String Quartet Competition, the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition, Chamber Music Society of the Monterey Peninsula Competition, and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. In conjunction with the West Virginia Symphony, they were also awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant to present works by American composers, which led to a series of highly successful statewide programs featuring the works of Darol Anger, among others.
Committed to performing contemporary works for audiences, the group was awarded a grant to commission a piece by composer Morton Subotnik and invited to perform and subsequently record Katherine Hoover’s piano quintet, “Da Pacem,” which has been released on the Koch Classics label. This led to a second successful recital on the Terrace Theater Series at Washington’s Kennedy Center.
Committed also to music from West Virginia composers, the Montclaire String Quartet performed the world premiere of West Virginia composer David Williams’ “String Quartet No. 1,” as well as a presentation of “Black Angels” by West Virginia composer George Crumb. In addition, in 2014 the quartet offered the premieres of “String Quartet No. 3” by Dr. John Beall, professor of composition and composer-in-residence at West Virginia University, and “Octagons for Clarinet and Strings” by Grant Cooper, conductor and music director of the West Virginia Symphony. In 2016, the group performed the world premiere of a string quartet composed specifically for them by Charleston, West Virginia, composer Matt Jackfert of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Currently the resident string quartet of West Virginia State University, the group has previously served as artists-in-residence at the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, and the New Hampshire Music Festival.
The Blue Mountain Performing Arts Series is designed to foster and encourage public appreciation of music, the teaching of music, and the history of music. Through the support of donors and paying members and in an effort to support its mission, Blue Mountain brings a wide variety of quality musical programs to the community through its yearlong Concert Series.
Annual membership with Blue Mountain, which includes admission to all BMPA shows at a significant cost savings, is $40 for adults, $35 for senior citizens, and $15 for students. Family packages, including two adults and all children living within the home, are $85. Individual tickets to Blue Mountain events are $15 to $20 for adults and $10 for students. All concerts are general admission with no reserved seats. Box office and doors open one hour before show time.
In addition to Blue Mountain concerts, BMPA membership also provides admission to events that are part of Bluefield College’s Performing Arts Series and concerts scheduled by the Beckley Concert Association. To purchase annual memberships or individual tickets, or for more information about the November 7 concert, visit bluemountainperformingarts.com, call 304-324-3234, or e-mail [email protected]