Lyris Quartet Performs Free Concert in Honor of Jacaranda’s 10th Anniversary

Jacaranda’s next concert, on March 8 at 8:00 p.m., will be
held at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, which is waiving admission to honor Jacaranda’s
10th anniversary. Jacaranda’s inaugural season featured an
adventurous young string quartet known as Denali, which played with the series
until 2010. Denali was succeeded by Lyris as quartet in residence. This free “Continental
Harmony” concert will be entirely devoted to the Lyris Quartet, playing 20th-century
American string quartet repertoire spanning 80 years. For the occasion, Lyris
will open with their debut performance of the String Quartet No. 2 by Charles
Ives (1911-13), followed by a Jacaranda signature work from 1973, String Quartet
No. 4, “Amazing Grace,” by Ben Johnston. String Quartet No. 5 by Philip Glass
(1991), a Lyris specialty, will be followed with String Quartet No. 3 by Erich
Wolfgang Korngold.

Composed in Los Angeles at the end of WWII, Korngold’s
Quartet No. 3 was performed by Denali in its final season, and will also be
performed by Lyris for the first time. The quartet was premiered at UCLA Royce
Hall in 1946. Fearing that his film music would be forgotten, Korngold recycled
themes from “Devotion” (1943) about the Bronte Sisters, the war themed “Between
Two Worlds” (1944), and the classic “The Sea Wolf” (1941) with Edward G.
Robinson, Ida Lupino and John Garfield.

Jacaranda is devoting “Continental Harmony” to the string
quartet, for the first time, in recognition of its importance to Jacaranda’s
programming.

The UCLA Music Library will host this free concert,
underwritten by the UCLA Music Library’s Christine and Hugo Davise Fund for
Contemporary Music, at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, 445 Charles E. Young Drive
East, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

Reservations are strongly
recommended. To RSVP and for more information, please visit www.JacarandaMusic.org
or call (213) 483-0216.

About Jacaranda: Jacaranda,
with the motto of “music at the edge,” is a series of intimate concert
adventures into the realm of new and rarely heard classical music designed to
awaken curiosity, passion and discovery in diverse audiences. Founded in 2003 by
arts impresario Patrick Scott and conductor/organist Mark Alan Hilt, Jacaranda
produces a series (eight concerts this season) that features current and rising
stars in the world of classical music performance. Celebrating its 10th
anniversary, Jacaranda’s full 2013-14 season information is available
at jacarandamusic.org. Most
concerts are at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, 1220 Second
Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. 

About The Lyris Quartet: The Lyris Quartet,
described as "radiant…excellent... and powerfully engaged" by Mark
Swed of the LA Times, was founded in 2008. The founding of Lyris was the
culmination of years of collaboration between its members in many different
ensembles throughout the Los Angeles area. The individual members of the
quartet have won top prizes at such competitions as the Tchaikovsky
International Competition and Aspen Music Festival as well as collaborated with
renowned artists Natalia Gutman, David Geringas, Martha Argerich, Alban
Gerhardt, Boris Pergamenschikov, Guillame Sutre, Myung-Whun Chung, and Richard
Stoltzman.



They have collaborated with composers Steve
Reich, Krystof Penderecki, Oliver Knussen, Steven Mackey, John Adams, Paquito
D'Rivera, Wadada Leo Smith, Gerard Schurmann, and Billy Childs.



Lyris has appeared throughout North America,
Europe, and Asia in a diverse range of ensembles including Grammy-nominated
groups Absolute Ensemble and Southwest Chamber Music, and Orchestra Ensemble
Kanazawa as well as solo and chamber appearances in various festivals such as
Ravinia, Brahms Festival in Madrid, Music Academy of the West, Banff Centre for
the Arts, Czech SommerFest, and Oregon Festival of American Music among others.



In Los Angeles, Lyris has performed at the Bing
Theater at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Broad Stage, Zipper Hall at
The Colburn School, Royce Hall, and Disney Hall. They opened the Long Beach
Opera’s production of Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen with a featured
performance of the “Intimate Letters” quartet and performed the west coast
premiere of David Lang's "The Difficulty of Crossing a Field." Other
performances have included the South Bay Chamber Music Series, Los Angeles
Music Guild, Annenberg Series, and Chamber Music Palisades. This year will mark
their fourth season as the resident ensemble for the critically acclaimed
series Jacaranda: Music at the Edge.



The Lyris Quartet also helps to curate the new
music series "Hear Now" which helps to promote the music of Los
Angeles composers. They have just completed their first album for Toccata
Classics which will be released next month.