String quartet to open Festival Series

BOWLING GREEN, O.—The music of legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix is the inspiration for the first concert in Bowling Green State University’s 2011-12 Festival Series. The Turtle Island String Quartet opens the season with a program titled “Have You Ever Been …?” at 8 p.m. Sept. 23 in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

Fusing jazz and classical styles, the quartet has defined American chamber music for over 25 years. From stages around the globe to international airwaves, the Turtle Island Quartet is the most acclaimed ensemble of its kind. The group has won two Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album and has recorded on Telarc, Koch, Chandos, and Windham Hill Jazz.

A Turtle Island concert can easily move from world music to rock and from jazz to bluegrass. All four members of the group are acclaimed improvisers and arrangers, their performances buoyed by founding members David Balakrishnan’s visionary multi-movement works and Mark Summer’s remarkable cello technique.

Their “Have you ever been . . .?” program features compositions inspired by and reflective of Hendrix’s, including Balakrishnan’s “Tree of Life” and a solo rendition of Hendrix’s “Little Wing” by Summer.

Tickets go on sale Sept. 16. For information, call the Moore box office weekdays from noon-6 p.m. at 1-800-589-2224 or 419-372-8171, or email musictickets@bgsu.edu

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(Posted September 07, 2011 )