Jupiter Quartet and Pianist Kenneth Osowski are Presented by York College of Pennsylvania – Performing Music by Wynton Marsalis, Su Lian Tan & Dvořák
Photo of the Jupiter Quartet by Elle Logan available in high resolution at www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/jupiter-string
The Jupiter String Quartet and pianist Kenneth Osowski Perform in York on April 12
Presented by York College of Pennsylvania
Performing Music by Wynton Marsalis, Antonin Dvořák & Su Lian Tan
Friday, April 12, 2024 at 7:30pm
Waldner Performing Arts Center
441 Country Club Road | York, PA
Free and Open to the Public
More Information
“technical finesse and rare expressive maturity” – The New Yorker
York, PA – The Jupiter String Quartet –– internationally acclaimed winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the Banff International String Quartet Competition, who are known for their “compelling” performances (BBC Music Magazine) –– will be presented in concert by York College of Pennsylvania at Waldner Performing Arts Center (441 Country Club Road) on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 7:30pm. The concert will feature a collaboration with York College faculty pianist Kenneth Osowski. The performance is free and open to the public.
The Jupiter Quartet will perform a program of works that spans more than a century and highlights a range of musical styles.The first half of the concert will include excerpts from At the Octoroon Balls, String Quartet No. 1 by Wynton Marsalis (1995), as well as Su Lian Tan’s Life in Wayang (2002). Mr. Osowski will join the quartet in the second half for a performance of Antonin Dvorak's Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81 (1887).
This globally inspired program pairs Su Lian Tan’s evocation of traditional South Asian puppet theater with Wynton Marsalis’ exploration of the complicated American Creole experience through the lens of a New Orleans ball. The program finishes with chamber music by Dvořák. His second Piano Quintet in A Major feels like the climatic milestone, as Dvořák had attempted to write in the quintet form, to his personal dissatisfaction, 10 years before this work’s conception in 1887. Not only does the Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major reflect a successful second attempt and a sophisticated display of chamber writing but its completion overlapped with a burst of international recognition for Dvořák.
The Jupiter Quartet says of performing this program and performing with Ken Osowski:
”We have known Ken since the very early years of our string quartet career, when all of us were students together at the Yellow Barn Music Festival in Vermont. He is a dynamic and engaging pianist, with an incredibly wide knowledge of musical styles and genres, and it is always a joy to get to play with him.”
Based in Urbana and giving concerts all over the country, the Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). Brought together by ties both familial and musical, the Jupiter Quartet has been performing together for 23 years. Exuding an energy that is at once friendly, knowledgeable, and adventurous, the Quartet celebrates every opportunity to bring their close-knit and lively style to audiences.Their connections to each other and the length of time they’ve shared the stage always shine through in their intuitive performances.
More About Jupiter String Quartet: This tight-knit ensemble is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music. Artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana since 2012, the Jupiter Quartet maintain private studios and direct the University’s chamber music program.
The Jupiter Quartet has performed in some of the world’s finest halls, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria’s Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. Their major music festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, Music at Menlo, the Seoul Spring Festival, and many others. In addition to their performing career, they have been artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign since 2012, where they maintain private studios and direct the chamber music program.
Their chamber music honors and awards include the grand prizes in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City; the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America; an Avery Fisher Career Grant; and a grant from the Fromm Foundation. From 2007-2010, they were in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two.
About Kenneth Osowski:
Ken Osowski serves as Associate Professor of Music at York College. Professor Osowski earned a doctoral degree from the Peabody Conservatory, a master’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. He serves as Principal Pianist of the York Symphony Orchestra, Collaborative Pianist for the York County Senior Honors Choir, and Founder/Artistic Director for the York Chamber Players. Professor Osowski has collaborated with the Jupiter, Lydian, and Parker String Quartets, and Apollo Chamber Players. He has also appeared as soloist with the Hershey Symphony and York Symphony Orchestra.
For Calendar Editors:
Description: The Jupiter Quartet, the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign who are described by The New Yorker as having “technical finesse and rare expressive maturity,” is presented by York College of Pennsylvania for a performance at Waldner Performing Arts Center (441 Country Club Road). The ensemble will perform a stylistically diverse, collaborative program that includes excerpts from At the Octoroon Balls, String Quartet No. 1 by Wynton Marsalis, Su Lian Tan’s Life in Wayang and Antonin Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81 (1887), performed with pianist Ken Osowski.
Short description: The Jupiter Quartet, who are described as having an ensemble of “technical finesse and rare expressive maturity” (The New Yorker), is presented by York College of Pennsylvania in a collaborative concert with pianist Ken Osowski, performing the music of Wynton Marsalis, Su Lian Tan, and Antonin Dvořák.
Concert details:
Who: Jupiter String Quartet with Pianist Ken Osowski
Presented by York College of Pennsylvania
What: Music by Su Lian Tan, Wynton Marsalis, and Antonin Dvořák
When: Friday, April 12, 2024 at 7:30pm
Where: Waldner Performing Arts Center, 441 Country Club Road, York, PA 17403
Tickets and information: www.ycp.edu/news-and-events/events/featured/