World Renowned Quartet to Perform Free Concert at Southern Miss

Hailed by the New York Times as possessing “explosive vigor and technical finesse”, the dynamic Miró Quartet, one of America's highest-profile string quartets, enjoys its place at the top of the international chamber music scene.

Now, the critically acclaimed ensemble comes to Hattiesburg for a free performance as part of the Connoisseur Series event is Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Marsh Auditorium on the Southern Miss Hattiesburg campus

Founded in 1995 at the Oberlin Conservatory, the Miró Quartet met with immediate success, winning competition after competition. Recent seasons have included concerts in some of the world's most important concert venues and music festivals. They have been quartet-in-residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two in New York City, and named to the Distinctive Debut Series of Carnegie Hall.

Highlights of the Miró Quartet's seasons have included acclaimed performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as well as performances in New York, Philadelphia, La Jolla, Memphis, and Kansas City, among many others. They have been heard on numerous national radio broadcasts, including American Public Media's Performance Today and Minnesota Public Radio's Saint Paul Sunday. Internationally, the Miró Quartet has been featured on radio networks across Europe, Canada and Israel.

They group has also been seen on ABC's World News Tonight, A&E's Breakfast with the Arts, and on various programs of the Canadian Broadcasting Company. At the invitation of Isaac Stern, the Quartet performed in a live broadcast at the Jerusalem Music Center in Israel and was featured in the PBS-TV “American Masters” documentary “Isaac Stern: Life's Virtuoso”.

In addition to a mastery of the standard repertoire, the quartet maintains a fierce devotion to contemporary music. The quartet serves as the faculty string quartet-in-residence at the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. Its members – violinists Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer, violist John Largess, and cellist Joshua Gindele – teach private students and coach chamber music there, while maintaining an active international touring schedule.

Deeply committed to fostering the next generation of musicians, the quartet filled in for both Isaac Stern and Henry Meyer, leading master classes in Lucerne, Switzerland and Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland. In the summers, the Miró Quartet has taught and performed at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Lake Tahoe Music Festival, and the Kent/Blossom Music Festival. The Quartet gives frequent master classes at many institutions around the world, including here in Hattiesburg.

“We look forward to Miro Quartet's visit on campus,” said Dr. Alexander Russakovsky, Connoisseur Series organizer. “It is a great opportunity for our string students to engage with the best professionals in the field.” In addition to a marvelous recital program, Miro Quartet will also present violin, viola and cello master classes which will be free and open to the public. 

Of their many recordings, the Miró Quartet most recently released a disc featuring live performances of works by Dvorak and Kevin Puts. The Miró Quartet's recording of Crumb's Black Angels received much international acclaim, including the French “Diapason d'Or”. The Miró Quartet is also featured on an Oxingale release entitled “Epilogue,” performing Mendelssohn's final string quartet (Op. 80) and Schubert's Quintet with celebrated cellist Matt Haimovitz.

For more information, call 601.266.6851.