Spektral Quartet to perform at BGSU

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Spektral Quartet, an acclaimed string quartet based in Chicago, will perform at 8 p.m. March 14 in Bryan Recital Hall at Bowling Green State University’s Moore Musical Arts Center. Part of the Music at the Forefront series sponsored by the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at BGSU, the concert is free and open to the public. The quartet will be performing new works by Beat Furrer and Hans Thomalla.

Since its inception, the Spektral Quartet has sought out the discourse between the great works of the traditional canon and those written this decade, this year, or this week. Creating connections across centuries, the group further invites its listeners in with charismatic deliveries, interactive concert formats, an up-close atmosphere and bold, inquisitive programming.

As ardent advocates for composers within its home city, the group recorded its debut album, “Chambers (Parlour Tapes+),” in 2013, featuring works by Thomalla, Marcos Balter, LJ White, Chris Fisher-Lochhead, and Ben Hjertmann. That same season saw the release of the South American jazz and tango-themed “From This Point Forward” on Azica Records, with bandoneon/accordion virtuoso Julien Labro and saxophone luminary Miguel Zenón.

Spektral Quartet appears on Swiss violin soloist Rachel Kolly d’Alba’s 2015 record “Fin de siècle,” on Aparté, performing Ernest Chausson’s “Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet,” and will be featured on upcoming albums from composers Augusta Read Thomas and Ryan Ingebritsen. January 2016 marked the unveiling of the group’s fourth full-length album, “Serious Business,” on Sono Luminus, an illumination of humor in classical music including Josef Haydn’s “The Joke” quartet and inventive new commissions from Dave Reminick, Sky Macklay, and Chris Fisher-Lochhead.

Keen on frequently treading outside the lines of classical music, Spektral Quartet partnered with avant-pop artist Julia Holter in the 2014/15 season for composer Alex Temple’s “Behind the Wallpaper”at the Ecstatic Music Festival in New York City and the Liquid Music series in St. Paul, Minn. In 2015-16, the ensemble invigorates its ongoing collaboration with Julien Labro, and will team up with Grammy-winning jazz artist Billy Childs for the esteemed Jazz at the Logan series at the University of Chicago.

Titled “Up Close,” the Spektral Quartet’s 2015-16 season is studded with new works from composers like Thomalla, Morgan Krauss, BGSU faculty member Mikel Kuehn, Ingebritsen, Tomas Gueglio Saccone, and Anthony Cheung as well as cornerstones of the string quartet repertoire by Beethoven, Schubert, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn, and Bartók. Season highlights on the road include a residency with the JACK Quartet at Stanford University, a teaching residency at the New World Symphony, an appearance with flutist Claire Chase on the University of Maryland's Common Tone series, and two concerts at BGSU, including serving as the guest ensemble for the 37th annual Bowling Green New Music Festival in October.

The Spektral Quartet also serves as ensemble-in-residence at the University of Chicago.

Music at the Forefront is an annual concert series featuring performances by accomplished and innovative performers of contemporary music. For more information, contact Kurt Doles at the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music at 419-372-2685 or email him at kdoles@bgsu.edu.