Jupiter String Quartet Performs American Prism, Presented by Adelphi University

On Friday, February 11, 2022 at 7:30pm, the Jupiter String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at the University of Illinois, is presented at Adelphi University’s Performing Arts Center (1 South Avenue). The performance will be held in-person for a live audience, as well as livestreamed. The Jupiter Quartet’s program for the evening, American Prism, is inspired by America’s wonderfully diverse and unique musical traditions as they are brought to life in the string quartets of some of the country’s most beloved composers from the last 125 years.

The performance begins at the turn of the twentieth century with Charles Ives, and journeys through contemporary re-imaginings of popular music from the 1910s and 1920s, including “Incineratorag” from William Bolcom’s Three Rags for String Quartet and excerpts from Florence Price’s Five Folksongs in Counterpoint – complex and rich interpretations on simple folk tunes. Then, the audience will hear the pioneering string quartet of Ruth Crawford Seeger; Joan Tower’s 9/11 tribute, In Memory; the gorgeous “Lyric” from George Walker’s first string quartet; and upbeat dances from John Adams’ John’s Book of Alleged Dances.

The program also features Michi Wiancko’s response to climate change, To Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores, which was commissioned by Bay Chamber Concerts in partnership with the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as Judd Greenstein’s Four on the Floor.