For the 12th consecutive year, MMI Preparatory School will host the Grammy-nominated Wister Quartet for a public performance at the school on Monday, March 23 at 7:00 P.M. The performance is made possible through the support of Dr. James W. Feussner ’65 in memory of Elizabeth Feussner.
Once again this year, the Wister Quartet will perform with guitarist Allen Krantz, a critically acclaimed guitarist, composer, and chamber musician. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Athletics and Drama Complex on the MMI campus at 154 Centre Street, Freeland. Doors open at 6:30 P.M.
Members of the quartet are violinists Nancy Bean and Davyd Booth, violist Pamela Fay, and cellist Lloyd Smith.
This year’s program is entitled “Musical Journeys” and features music composed by Joseph Haydn, Niccolò Paganini, and Luigi Boccherini. The program also includes three pieces developed from ideas by MMI students and arranged by Lloyd Smith.
The Wister Quartet will also perform for MMI students during an afternoon assembly at the school the day of the concert.
MMI Head of School Thomas G. Hood said, “The Wister Quartet provides a wonderful opportunity for people in Greater Hazleton to experience classical music at no cost. I would like to thank these musicians for helping our students develop an appreciation for classical music and bringing their music to our community for so many years.”
For more information or to arrange group accommodations to the concert, call MMI at 570-636-1108.
About the Wister Quartet
Named to honor Frances Anne Wister, founder of the The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Volunteer Committees, the Wister Quartet has earned high praise from critics and audiences alike for its superb musicianship and memorable performances, including those with guest artists Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Alicia de Larrocha, Christoph Eschenbach, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Yo-Yo Ma.
The Philadelphia-based quartet has been in residence at Haverford College and has performed throughout Europe, China, and the eastern United States, including concerts at Haverford, Swarthmore, Gettysburg, Ursinus, and Gloucester County (NJ) colleges. The Wister Quartet appears frequently on established series such as those presented by The Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem, the Laurel Hill Concerts by Candlelight in the historic Philadelphia mansion of that name in Fairmount Park, the Glencairn Museum, and the Islip Arts Council. Since its earliest days, the Wister Quartet has been featured on the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Chamber Music Series, and since 1991 in performances on the Lenape Chamber Players Summer Festivals and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center chamber series.
The quartet has recorded for Direct-to-Tape Records; its first CD was nominated for a Grammy. It is the core ensemble of 1807 & Friends, a popular Philadelphia chamber ensemble whose recent recording on the Direct-to-Tape label, “The Philadelphia Connection,” features the Wister Quartet’s highly acclaimed performance of the Barber String Quartet.
Leave a Reply