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Sunday, February 23, 2025
— a “hybrid” event —
9th Street Quartet
Matt Richardson, violin
Jennifer Wade, violin
Liz O’Hara, viola
Andrew Rammon, cello
…with special guest artist
Benjamin Wensel, cello
Visions and Miracles
Schubert’s Cello Quintet in C Major is one of the most beloved pieces in the chamber music repertoire. His last work for chamber ensemble, he finished just two months before his death. This epic composition takes a journey through all of the emotions of the human experience, from tenderness to tragedy to joyful exultation. The addition of the second cello to the traditional string quartet creates an incredible depth of richness that is best experienced in live performance.
Before the Schubert, the 9th Street Quartet performs the exuberant ‘Visions and Miracles’ by Christopher Theofanidis. Movement one, “All Joy Wills Eternity,” derives from Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1891). The second movement, “Peace Love Light YOUMEONE” takes its name from the inscription on Timothy Leary’s crematorial urn. “I Add Brilliance to the Sun,” the title of movement three, is said to evoked the song of a medieval troubadour.
PROGRAM
Christopher Theofanidis – String Quartet, “Visions and Miracles”
“All Joy Wills Eternity”
“Peace Love Light YOUMEONE”
“I Add Brilliance to the Sun”
Franz Schubert – String Quintet
Allegro ma non troppo
Adagio
Scherzo. Presto – Trio. Andante sostenuto
Allegretto
BIOGRAPHY
9th Street Quartet is the professional ensemble of 9th Street Chamber Music – a new model for the professional string quartet with youth and outreach endeavors as part of its core mission. We are dedicated to inspiring contemporary audiences by disrupting outdated classical music education and performance traditions through our concert series in intimate venues, and our youth string quartet program. Matt Richardson and Jennifer Wade are our violinists, Liz O’Hara is our violist, and Andrew Rammon is our cellist.
9SQ believes that the future of classical music lies in, well, the future! As culture takes a shift towards smaller, more personal, local connections (farm-to-table, local brewed, hand-crafted) we believe that classical music should be doing the same. Our programs are a blend of the old and the new: new masterpieces paired with old ones, experienced listeners with new concertgoers, and experienced musicians with students. We look forward to creating a tradition of commissioning new works from the amazing composers alive today, and building new partnerships with local organizations to help bring the communal chamber music experience to everyone.
As an ensemble-in-residence at Saint George’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA, 9SQ hosts a dynamic concert series and operates their youth String Quartet Intensive program. Recent collaborations have included commissioning Ascalon for string quartet and organ by Steven Snowden, hosting Miró Quartet, Thalea Quartet, and Tesla Quartet for masterclasses and panel discussions, 9SQ guest artist performances and workshops at Susquehanna University and secondary schools in Pennsylvania, performing on the ‘Levine Presents’ concert series, and partnering with the Jane Austen Society of North America in our final concert of the 2023-24 season. Some highlights of the 24-25 season include concerts, collaborations, and workshops at Shippensburg University, University of Maryland, and The Catholic University of America. See more and sign up for our email list at 9thstreetchambermusic.com.
ABOUT BENJAMIN WENSEL
Hailing from Rochester, New York, cellist Benjamin Wensel earned degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Eastman School of Music. While at Eastman, Ben served as assistant to renowned pedagogue Alan Harris. Equally important to his musical education were performances in seminars and master classes for members of the Cleveland, Guarneri, Juilliard, Miami, and Ying quartets, chamber music studies with Peter Salaff and members of the Audubon and Cavani Quartets, and solo master classes with Clemens Michael Hagen, Steven Isserlis, David Soyer, and Michel Strauss. Festival experiences include Interlochen, Kent-Blossom, Aspen, National Repertory Orchestra, and Moulin d’Ande. Ben has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Syracuse Symphony, and has been a member of The U.S. Army Orchestra, Strolling Strings, and String Quartet since 2003.
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