The Del Sol Quartet 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 violinist ...

based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

that was founded in 1992 by violist Charlton Lee. Del Sol has commissioned and premiered thousands of works from a diverse range of international composers, including

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

, Frederic Rzewski, Tania León, Mason Bates, Gabriela Lena Frank,

Huang Ruo Huang Ruo (黃若, born 1976) is a Chinese-born composer, pianist and vocalist who now lives in the United States. Biography Born on Hainan Island off the southern coast of China in 1976, Huang was taught piano and composition from the age ...

, Michael Harrison, Ben Johnston, Chinary Ung,

Daniel Bernard Roumain Daniel Bernard Roumain (known by his initials, DBR; born 1970) is a classically trained composer, performer, violinist, and band-leader, whose work combines classical music with jazz, hip-hop and rock. Composer In September 2010, ''Dancers, Drea ...

Kui Dong Kui Dong (董葵, born 1966, Beijing, China) is a Chinese-American composer, musician, and teacher. She is known for her music which has often incorporated traditional Chinese music into contemporary contexts, and is currently Professor of Music at ...

, Mohammed Fairouz,

Theresa Wong Theresa Wong (born March 31, 1976) is an American cellist, vocalist, composer and improviser in the field of experimental music. In 2013 she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. Early life and education She was born in Schenectady, New York, Uni ...

, Erberk Eryilmaz,

Ken Ueno Ken Ueno (born January 11, 1970 in Bronxville, New York) is an American composer. Career Ueno pursued initial studies in music at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY, but soon transferred to Berklee College of Music, where he ea ...

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighboring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigin ...

Pamela Z Pamela Z (born 1956) is an American composer, performer, and media artist who is best known for her solo works for voice with electronic processing. In performance, she combines various vocal sounds including operatic bel canto, experimental ex ...

Reza Vali Reza Vali (born 1952 in Ghazvin) is an Iranian musician and composer. Reza Vali was born in Iran and studied at the Tehran Conservatory. In 1972, he attended the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, where he studied composition. He ...

Per Nørgård Per Nørgård (; born 13 July 1932) is a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style has varied considerably throughout his career, his music has often included repeatedly evolving melodies—such as the infinity series—in the vein o ...

. As of 2023, quartet members are Benjamin Kreith (violin), Hyeyung Sol Yoon (violin), Charlton Lee (viola), and Kathryn Bates (cello). Hyeyung Sol Yoon, formerly of the Chiara String Quartet, succeeded violinist Samuel Weiser.

Founding

Founded in 1992, the Del Sol String Quartet began its life in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, followed by residency at San Francisco State University in association with the Alexander String Quartet. In 2002, Del Sol released its CD ''Tear''. Del Sol was named winner of the Chamber Ensemble/Mixed Repertory category for 2005-2006 by Chamber Music America and

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

, and also received an ASCAP award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music Other early appointments included the 2003 "Emerging Quartets and Composers Residency" with the Muir String Quartet and

Joan Tower Joan Tower (born September 6, 1938)http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&ComposerId_2872=1605 Biography on Schirmer is a Grammy-winning contemporary American composer, concert pianist and conductor. Lauded by ''The New Y ...

in Park City, Utah; Quartet-in-Residence at University of New Mexico; residencies at The Walden School and Tahoe Music Festival; and

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North C ...

in 2007. Del Sol appears on programs presented by Other Minds, San Francisco Performances, Montalvo Arts Center and Santa Fe New Music/

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newl ...

. (from website)

Interest in Just Intonation

The quartet demonstrates a particular interest in string quartet writing in

just intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals as whole number ratios (such as 3:2 or 4:3) of frequencies. An interval tuned in this way is said to be pure, and is called a just interval. Just intervals (and ...

, particularly in the work of American composer Ben Johnston, along with composers such as Michael Harrison,

and

Mathew Rosenblum Mathew Rosenblum (born March 19, 1954) is an American composer whose works have been commissioned, recorded and performed by musical groups such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Thailand Philharmonic ...

. They are currently the only string quartet touring multiple quartets by Ben Johnston, which are notoriously difficult, and were the first group to premiere Johnston's music at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C in 2016. In 2019, the quartet launched the
Pacific Pythagorean Music Festival
, a music festival dedicated to works of just intonation. They were highlighted performers at the Pittsburgh "Beyond 2020: Microtonal Music Festival". They premiered "One-Footed" by composer

Taylor Brook Taylor Brook (born 1985) is a composer of contemporary classical music who currently resides in New York City. Education Brook was born in Edmonton but grew up in Toronto, where he attended Etobicoke School of the Arts, a specialized arts-acade ...

with the Partch Ensemble at

REDCAT Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts center for innovative visual, performing and media arts in downtown Los Angeles, located inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. Opened in November 2003 ...

in 2022.

Amplifying Asian Voices

The Quartet's repertoire has always been chosen from the vantage point of San Francisco, looking across the Pacific Ocean, with a dedicated interest in the Pacific Rim and Asia. With the launching of the Angel Island Project in 2017, alongside the increase in violence and hate crimes against Asian-Americans, the Quartet deepened its commitment to champion the musical and artistic voices of both Asian and Asian-American composers. This work includes majors projects, commissioning of composers, and community work. In 2021, the Quartet premiered Huang Ruo's ''ANGEL ISLAND – Oratorio'' with

Volti Volti is a 16- to 24-person professional vocal ensemble based in San Francisco, focused on the commissioning and performance of new music. In 2018, Volti became the first vocal group ever to have been awarded the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Ad ...

inside the Angel Island Immigration Station as well as San Francisco's Presidio Theatre. They previewed excerpts at Bard College's China Now music festival. Since the premiere, the Quartet has performed a new version at the Santa Fe Opera and with the UC Berkeley Choir, which launched an entire year of curriculum and events based on Angel Island. Future performances include the National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian) with the US Air Force Band Singing Sergeants. In 2022, the Quartet recorded ''The Resonance Between'' with Alam Khan (sarode/composer) and Arjun Verma (sitar/composer). This album is set to release in 2023-2024, with a world premiere performance. The Quartet has an ongoing relationship with the Last Hoisan Poets (Genny Lim, Flo Oy Wong, Nellie Wong), who work to preserve their native dialect through poetry. The first collaborative performance focused on keeping Angel Island In Sight, with recent performances at the

De Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the Legion of Ho ...

Environmental Work

The Quartet explores the intersection between environment and music. They are known for their nature performances, including roaming concerts at the Albany Bulb, pop-up concerts in Mendocino's redwoods, and their annual

white water rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

trip on

Yampa River The Yampa River flows through northwestern Colorado in the United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, it is a tributary of the Green River and a major part of the Colorado River system. The Yampa is one of the few free-flowing rivers in the ...

the with Holiday Expeditions. They also work in the intersection of artists and climate change activism, including a current project with Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music's "Composing Earth" program.

Joy Project

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the Quartet commissioned over 20 works known as the Joy Project, which they begun performing outdoors in September 2020 to inspire joy in the community. The performances occurred in pop-up locations of street corners, closed movie theatres, coffee shops, and parks. Composers include:

, Lisa Mezzaccappa, Andy Akiho,

Mark Orton Mark Orton is an American composer and musician. An alumnus of the Peabody Conservatory and the Hartt School of Music, he is a founding member of the San Francisco-based Tin Hat chamber music group, and is best known for his score for the Aca ...

, and more. In 2022-2023, the performances continued through partnerships, including performances at the Salesforce Park and different branches of the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as '' Library Journals ...

. In 2022, the Quartet was the closing act to the Atlantic Magazine's Pursuit of Happiness Conference.

Outreach

The quartet has given lectures/performances by invitation from presenters including the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fra ...

Adventures in Music series, San Francisco Libraries, Music at Kohl Mansion, Young Audiences of the Bay Area, American Composers Forum and San Francisco Performances. The quartet has an ongoing relationship with the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music in Boonville, CA.

Recordings

Del Sol has released 11 full-length CDs since 2002 garnering international praise from publications including the New York Times, Gramophone, The Strad, Chamber Music, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
A Dust in Time
(2021): World premiere recording of Huang Ruo's hour long meditation , released as a coloring book by Felicia Lee (Bright Shiny Things) **debuted at #3 on Billboard Classical charts **GRAMMY award for Producer of the Year - Classical (Judith Sherman) *Kooch-e Khamân (2021): Live concert recording of music by young Iranian composers (

Gity Razaz Gity Razaz (born March 22, 1986) is an American composer of Iranian origin. She has written music for symphony orchestra, opera, ballet, chamber ensemble, and solo instrumentalist, as well as pieces with multimedia and electroacoustic elements. Li ...

Adib Ghorbani
Elnaz Sayadi
Hesam AbediniNasim KhorassaniNiloufar Shiri
an
Iman Habibi
**debuted at #5 on Billboard Classical charts *Dark Queen Mantra (2017): World premiere recordings including Terry Riley's "Dark Queen Mantra" &

Stefano Scodanibbio Stefano Scodanibbio (18 June 1956 – 8 January 2012) was an Italian musician who reached international prominence as a double bassist and composer. Biography Scodanibbio was born in Macerata. He studied double bass with Fernando Grillo and c ...

"Mas Lugares"(with guitarist Gyan Riley) *Scrapyard Exotica (2015): World premiere recordings of music by

, Mohammed Fairouz, and Mason Bates (Sono Luminus) *Peter Sculthorpe Complete String Quartets with Didjeridu (2014) (

Sono Luminus Sono Luminus is a classical music record label founded by Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack, who also founded Cisco Systems. The label specializes in high-resolution recordings of acoustic music. History Sono Luminus was created in 1995 by Cisco ...

) (featuring Stephen Kent, didjeridu) *Complete String Quartets of Robert Erickson (2014) ( New World Records) *Split EP (digital download): Del Sol with ZOFO, 4 hands piano duo *ZIA (2013) features contemporary works with influences from Peru, Turkey, Spain, Iran and Uzbekistan. (

) *First Life (2009), a world premiere recording of the complete string quartets of American composer

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro- union musical '' The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the ...

( Other Minds) *Ring of Fire: Music of the Pacific Rim (2008), a compilation of works by eight composers from around the Pacific Rim ( Other Minds) *The Complete Works for String Quartet by American composer

George Antheil George Johann Carl Antheil (; July 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author, and inventor whose modernist musical compositions explored the modern sounds – musical, industrial, and mechanical – of t ...

(2005) ( Other Minds: OM 1008-2.) *Tear (2002), featuring a rendition of

Ástor Piazzolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed '' nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fr ...

's "Libertango", as well as music by

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his ...

Earle Brown Earle Brown (December 26, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems. Brown was the creator of "open form," a style of musical construction that has influenced many composers since� ...

Silvestre Revueltas Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez (December 31, 1899 – October 5, 1940) was a Mexican composer of classical music, a violinist and a conducting, conductor. Life Revueltas was born in Santiago Papasquiaro in Durango, and studied at the National Co ...

, Ruth Crawford Seeger,

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Bue ...

, and

John Harbison John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer, known for his symphonies, operas, and large choral works. Life John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harb ...

. They are also featured on: *

SPELLLING Chrystia "Tia" Cabral (born May 18, 1991), known professionally as Spellling (stylized in all caps), is an American experimental pop musician based in Oakland, California. Cabral released her debut album, ''Pantheon of Me'', in September 2017 ...

: The Turning Wheel *

Anthony Brandt Anthony K. Brandt (born 1961) is an American composer, academic, and writer. He is Professor of Composition and Theory at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and the co-author with neuroscientist David Eagleman of the 2017 book ''The R ...

: Maternity / Ulysses, Home * D.J. Sparr: Hard Metal Cantus

Film

They were featured on the soundtrack for the film Lovelace.

References

External links

Official WebsitePBS Video of Del Sol working with composersClassical VoiceSan Francisco Friends of Chamber MusicArt of the States: Del Sol String Quartet
(with video) {{authority control Musical groups established in 1992 American string quartets Tango music groups Musical groups from San Francisco Contemporary classical music ensembles