Apollo Chamber Players is an American string quartet based in Houston, Texas. The ensemble, composed of Violinist and Founder Matthew Detrick, Violinist Anabel Ramirez Detrick, Violist Whitney Bullock and Cellist Matthew Dudzik, are known for their distinctive, globally-inspired programming and have garnered international recognition for unique performances and a diverse catalog of commissioned works. In January 2017, they became the first American
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
group to perform and record in the nation of
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
since 1960. The group has been featured on national broadcast radio on several occasions as part of
American Public Media
American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
's ''Performance Today'' program.
The ensemble's fifth studio album ''With Malice Toward None'' has been met with critical acclaim. James Manheim of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
writes that the project is "a well-performed set of entirely novel chamber music". Jon Sobel of Blogcritics calls the album a "varied yet thematically contiguous fusion of international traditions and modern innovation".
Commissions
Composers commissioned by the Apollo Chamber Players include
Libby Larsen
Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a contemporary American classical composer. Along with composer Stephen Paulus, she is a co-founder of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum.
A former holder of the Pa ...
Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Awards for Best Contemp ...
among many others. From 2014 to 2020 the ensemble commissioned new music as part of its 20x2020 project.