Press Release: "Northernn Lights"

"Northern Lights" -- A Tribute to Canadian Composers by the Del Sol String Quartet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Kate Stenberg
Del Sol String Quartet
415-665-7847
http://www.delsolquartet.com/
kate@delsolquartet.com

San Francisco, CA -- Del Sol String Quartet (DSSQ) will showcase four of the most innovative living composers from Canada in the next concert of the Del Sol Performing Arts Organization’s Home Season. At the upcoming "Northern Lights” concert, DSSQ will perform the world premiere of String Quartet No. 2, "Nostalgia" (2002/2006), by Ronald Bruce Smith (b. 1961, Canada). The performance also includes “As You Pass A Reflective Surface” (1991) by Linda Catlin Smith (b. 1957, USA), String Quartet No. 3 (1981) by R. Murray Schafer (b. 1933, Canada), and “Spanish Garland --12 Folk Melodies from Spain” (1993) by José Evangelista (b. 1943, Spain).

DSSQ will perform this repertoire in four concerts across the Bay Area.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006, at 8:00pm - Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley.
Thursday, May 25th, at 7:00pm - Tateuchi Hall, Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Cir., Mountain View.
Friday, May 26th, at 8:00pm - the Green Room of the SF War Memorial, 401 Van Ness Ave.,San Francisco.
Sunday, May 28th, at 4:00pm - the Dance Palace, 5th and B Streets, Point Reyes Station.

Tickets for each performance are available at the door: $20/$15 seniors/$7 students.

In January 2006 DSSQ was awarded First Prize for Adventurous Programming (Mixed Repertory) by ASCAP/Chamber Music America. Founded in 1992 during a residency at the Canadian artists' retreat, Banff Centre for the Arts, DSSQ specializes in music of the Americas and recently was featured with hip-hop violinist/composer Daniel Bernard Roumain on the CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer.

Ronald Bruce Smith's evocative music is based on mathematical principles but is full of emotional depth and is as exquisitely wrought as a maple leaf. Smith's music often has a contemplative character, a preoccupation with enhancing the resonance of a given ensemble and an openness to new sound sources. Although DSSQ has played two of the movements of this work previously, this performance marks the world premiere of the entire four-movement composition.

Linda Catlin Smith's "As You Pass A Reflective Surface" (1991) uses notes sparingly to create a shimmering, ethereal space. She writes, "I want to make time larger than it is, as though the listener is examining something up close --closer than a usual perspective . . . an intimate perspective."

R. Murray Schafer is known as the writer of books on the world soundscape and its evolution. His String Quartet No. 3 (1981) is a four-movement essay of surpassing complexity.

José Evangelista, a composer, computer scientist and physicist born in Valencia, Spain, has resided for over thirty years in Montréal and often incorporates traditional ethnic music into his work. His "Spanish Garland" treats twelve different folk melodies from Spain in an inventive and whirlwind tour de force.

For information: http://www.delsolquartet.com/ or
Contact: kate@delsolquartet.com
Phone: 415-665-7847

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PSA Request
For Immediate Release: April 4, 2006
Contact: Kate Stenberg
415-665-7847, kate@delsolquartet.com

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT REQUEST

EVENT: "NORTHERN LIGHTS” – A TRIBUTE TO CANADIAN COMPOSERS

EVENT DATE: WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2006, 8 PM
EVENT LOCATION: ASHBY STAGE, 1901 ASHBY AVE, BERKELEY, CA

EVENT DATE: THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2006, 7 PM
EVENT LOCATION: TATEUCHI HALL. FINN CENTER. 230 SAN ANTONIO CIRCLE,
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA

EVENT DATE: EVENT DATE: FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2006, 8 PM
EVENT LOCATION: GREEN ROOM OF THE SF WAR MEMORIAL, 401 VAN NESS AVE.,
SAN FRANCISCO, CA

EVENT DATE: SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2006, 4 PM
EVENT LOCATION: DANCE PALACE, 5TH AND B STREETS, POINT REYES STATION, CA



15 SECONDS:

DEL SOL STRING QUARTET WILL SHOWCASE FOUR OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE LIVING COMPOSERS FROM CANADA: R. MURRAY SCHAFER, JOSÉ EVANGELISTA, RONALD BRUCE SMITH, AND LINDA CATLIN SMITH. WEDNESDAY, MAY 24TH, THROUGH SUNDAY, MAY 28TH AT VARIOUS VENUES IN THE BAY AREA.

VISIT DELSOLQUARTET.COM OR CALL 415-665-7847 FOR MORE INFORMATION.


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Founded in 1992, the Del Sol String Quartet specializes in music of the Americas. The Del Sol Performing Arts Organization brings chamber music to the general public through the Quartet’s concert performances, educational and community outreach programs, composer retrospectives, commissioning of new works, and recordings.