The Calder Quartet (CQ) is a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1998 at the University of Southern California, the group takes its name from American sculptor Alexander Calder. The ensemble is currently composed of its founding members, including violinists Benjamin Jacobson and Tereza Stanislav, violist Jonathan Moerschel, and cellist Eric Byers. Los Angeles Times music critic, Mark Swed called the CQ "one of America's great string quartets." In 2014, the CQ was awarded one of Lincoln Center's prestigious

Avery Fisher Career Grant {{third-party, date=November 2017 The Avery Fisher Career Grant, established by Avery Fisher, is an award given to up to five outstanding instrumentalists each year (since 2004, chamber music groups are also eligible). The Career Grants are a part o ...

s for "professional assistance and recognition to talented instrumentalists who the Recommendation Board and Executive Committee believe have great potential."

History

The Calder Quartet formed at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and continued studies at the Colburn School with Ronald Leonard, where they were part of that school's first graduating class. While at the Juilliard School, they received the Artist Diploma in Chamber Music Studies as the Juilliard Graduate Resident String Quartet. They have also studied with Professor Eberhard Feltz at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin. In 2009, the Calder Quartet received the 2009 ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award. They eventually became assistant faculty and quartet in residence at the Colburn School. In 2003, the Calder Quartet joined with composer Matt McBane, to found the

Carlsbad Music Festival Carlsbad may refer to: *Carlsbad, California, United States *Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States * Carlsbad, Texas, United States *Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa ...

. The CQ has been Founding Ensemble-in-Residence since the festival's inception. In March 2013, the CQ was featured in and appeared on the cover of the magazine The Strad. In 2017 the quartet signed an exclusive global recording contract with PENTATONE. CQ's first album for the label will focus on Beethoven quartets. Violinist Tereza Stanislav joined the quartet in 2019 replacing Andrew Bulbrook who was an original member of the quartet since its inception in 1998.

Calder Performing Arts Organization

On September 14, 2011 the Calder Quartet launched a nonprofit called the Calder Performing Arts Organization (CPAO) with the purpose of commissioning and recording contemporary music, as well as the support of the Calder Quartet's educational outreach performances in Southern California. The nonprofit was inaugurated at the Blum & Poe Gallery in Los Angeles with a joint recital with composer Terry Riley and featured a performance environment created by long-time Calder collaborator (and album cover artist) Dave Muller. The CPAO funded the recording of ''Eclectic Currents'', a 2014 album featuring 12 emerging composers who have written for the Calder Quartet. The CPAO has commissioned works with partners including the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views over ...

and the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

Commissions, premieres, and appearances

The Calder Quartet has commissioned or premiered more than 30 works from established and emerging composers, including Terry Riley, Thomas Adès, Christopher Rouse, Peter Eötvös, Andrew Norman, David Lang (upcoming, June 2014 with Los Angeles Master Chorale), Mark Mothersbaugh, and Aaron Jay Kernis. Christopher Rouse dedicated his String Quartet No. 3 to the Calder Quartet, which the group premiered in 2010. The Calder Quartet has performed at venues including

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, Lincoln Center,

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

, the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, the

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

, the Stockholm Konserthuset, Esterhazy Palace, the Edinburgh Festival, the

, Central Park SummerStage (NYC), and the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

. In 2012, CQ was featured in a live in-studio performance on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Calder Quartet made its Lincoln Center debut for Mostly Mozart in a program consisting of Thomas Adès Arcadiana and Beethoven's Op. 131 string quartet, a performance heralded by the New York Times as "superb." Past and current collaborators include Joshua Bell, Edgar Meyer, Thomas Adès,

Richard Reed Parry Richard Reed Parry (born October 4, 1977) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, best known as a core member of the Grammy Award-winning indie rock band Arcade Fire, where he plays a wide variety of instruments, often switch ...

Iva Bittová Iva Bittová (born 22 July 1958) is a Czech avant-garde violinist, singer, and composer. She began her career as an actor in the mid-1970s, appearing in several Czech feature films, but switched to playing violin and singing in the early 1980s. ...

Anne-Marie McDermott Anne-Marie McDermott is an American classical pianist and member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She is also the artistic director of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, the Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival in Key Largo, Florid ...

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, Joby Talbot, Steven Mackey,

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

, The National, The Airborne Toxic Event, Vampire Weekend, Cass McCombs,P3> Dan Deacon, Andrew WK, Paul Neubauer, Fucked Up, So Percussion, Jóhann Jóhannsson, The Dirty Projectors, film and television composer Bear McCreary, and the Cleveland Orchestra. In the fall of 2013 the CQ was in residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, performing the complete cycle of 6 Bartók string quartets along with special guests

David Longstreth David Longstreth (born December 17, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and guitarist for the band Dirty Projectors. Biography Longstreth was born in Southbury, Connecticut. Longstreth attended Yale University and ...

(from The Dirty Projectors) and Iva Bittová. Music by Peter Eötvös will also be featured. Alongside The Airborne Toxic Event and Vampire Weekend, the CQ has performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the

Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's ''Tonight Show'' franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's '' Late N ...

, and the

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing ...

. CQ has appeared on albums by The Airborne Toxic Event, Lavender Diamond, and The Naked and Famous.

Classical recordings

*Source:

Film & television scores

Calder Quartet can be heard on film and television soundtracks including

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

's '' Da Vinci's Demons'' (scored by Bear McCreary), Ruby Sparks, and the documentary film ''

The Short Game ''The Short Game'' is a 2013 documentary film about 7- and 8-year-old golfers. Produced by Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel and directed by Josh Greenbaum, it presents eight entrants in the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship. The film premi ...

'' (scored by Mark Mothersbaugh). In 2013, ''Da Vinci's Demons'' won an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for ''Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music'', a theme which features the CQ prominently.

References

External links

*
Calder Quartet page at Intermusica

Video: Bear McCreary and the Calder Quartet on Da Vinci's Demons

Video: Calder Quartet on KCRW

Video: Sometime Around Midnight with TATE on Letterman
* http://davincisdemons.com/blog/2012/12/18/scoring-da-vinci/ {{Authority control American string quartets