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The Bennington Cello Quartet to Meet the Demand for a \\I Regular Performing Ensemble in This Medium

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The Bennington Cello Quartet to Meet the Demand for a \\I Regular Performing Ensemble in This Medium THE QUARTET THE BENNINGTON The Bennington :Cello Quartet is an outgrowth of a tradition of multiple cello chamber music which began with the arrival of cellist George Fincke! at Bennington College in 1943. During his long, illustrious career, his CELLO QUARTET collection of unusual and profoundly moving four cello transcriptions inspired the community and generations of cellists with a love for this form. Continuing in this tradition, Maxine Neuman established the Bennington Cello Quartet to meet the demand for a \\I regular performing ensemble in this medium. Although p·rogramming includes music of many eras and styles, the Quartet especially features works written for them: the group feels that the relationship between composer and performer is at the heart of much of the world's greatest music. The Quartet's tours have won both acclaim and a growing audience for the robust energy and sensuality of playing which are the hallmarks of the group's style. Last season, the Bennington Cello Quartet played over thirty concerts, commissioning and premiering numerous works. The Quartet's first CD for Opus One Records, "Cello Quartets of the 20th Century", was released in 1991. This critically acclaimed recording includes works by Bennington alumni John Hendrick and Tina Davidson, a commissioned quartet by faculty composer Allen Shawn, H E E N s E . M B L E T ...... .... ..................................... ······ ·· ······························· ······ and works by Grazyna Bacewicz ( 1909-1969) and )n &o n Mc De rm u ll l' en n ~y l vu ni i.l Pe rfo rmant:e I Co mp osit io fl I Pri n lmuking ···· ···· ·········· ·· ····· ······································ ... .. .......... ······················· Alexandre Tansman (b . 1897). cuJd fn .Hmble.{ M u x i n e N e u m a 11 ~PW Yo r k Pr ofe.oor of Cello Studie.~ Chamber . ' . .. .. .. ' ' . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ' .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. l\fo thuni PI Pfl rlu• \ ·(·rmun t .................... .. .. .................................. .. .. .. ............. J o ~ lr S r I• r e i l1 f' r ~IJ ... :-><.H· h u~• ~ lt:-> Ct>!lo I PhutugrnJihy I Puliticnl Sciencr For more information about Bennington College: Admission Office Ben nington, VT 05201 802 - 44 2 - 6349 THE CELLISTS Wednesday, March 10, 1993 Green wall 8:15pm Bennington College, VT In 1988, Jason McDermott came to Bennington as a prospective vi ­ sual arts major and began studying cello with Maxine Neuman. He is a senior this year, a double major in cello/composition and paint­ BENNINGTON CELLO QUARTET ing/printmaking. His chamber and orchestral experience includes playing in the D'Angelo Orchestra (in Jason's native Erie, Pennsylva­ Jason McDermott nia), Sage City Symphony in Bennington and trios and string quartets at home and at the College. This past summer, he attended the Maxine Neuman Chamber Music Conference as the first recipient of the Laufman Nathaniel Parke Scholarship. Jason has also recently received the Hoffberger-Rosen­ Joshua Schreiber berg Scholarship. Bennington College faculty member Maxine Neuman's regular solo Concerto Grosso in d Antonio Vivaldi ( 1678-1741) and chamber music appearances span the United States, Canada, 1 Mexico, South America, Europe and Japan. Among her many solo Allegro-Adagio-Allegro concerts are performances in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in Largo New York, the National Gallery in Washington, the Palacio de Bellas Allegro Artes in Mexico City, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Germany. On the faculty of Bennington College since Sonata Tango ( 1992-93) Jason McDermott 1981, she is also a founding member of the Walden Trio and the Crescent Quartet. Her long list of recording credits includes Van­ La hora azul guard, CRI, Columbia, Opus One, Orion, Crest, Leonarda, Musical Tango del diablo morado Heritage, Nonesuch, Angel, Austrophon and Sony Virgin Records. Ojos de verde Her two children, Julia and Mark, often accompany her on her tours. El pafiuelo amarillo Native Vermonter Nathaniel Parke first appeared as soloist with the 4 Preludes, Opus 28 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) Vermont Symphony at age 15. After receiving his undergraduate de­ gree from the Longy School of Music as a student of George No. 21 in C Major Neikrug, he went to study with William Pleeth in London. Since re­ No. 4 in e minor ceiving a Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington in 1 992, he No. 6 in b minor has established a community string program at the North Bennington No. 12 in g minor Graded School, teaching 13 students and involving parents and community members. In the summer, he teaches and coaches cham­ INTERMISSION ber music at Point Counterpoint Chamber Music Camp in Brandon, Vermont and is on the faculty of the Chamber Music Conference and Pavan & Almain John Jenkins (1592-1678) Composers' Forum . He also teaches at Buxton School, is a member of Capitol Chamber Artists in Albany and maintains a full class of private students. Cello Quartet ( 1989) Allen Shawn Largo, expressivo, inquieto Joshua Schreiber, a junior at Bennington, was born in Watertown, Allegro primitivo Massachusetts and remained there until his family moved to Israel in Tranquillo 1977. Josh began his cello studies in the third grade. He is equally Allegretto, grazioso e ironico familiar with the orchestral environment. He played in the Kibbutz Adagio espressivo Youth Orchestra and then, after returning to the U.S. in 1988, he joined the Greater Boston Youth Orchestra and the District, All-State Mephisto Waltz Franz Liszt {1811-1886) and Harvard Summer School orchestras. He has also been on the staff of the Encore Coda Summer Music Camp. Josh is a double major in Music and International Relations; however, he still finds Tanguedia Ill (1985) Astor Piazzolla time to play an occasional round of Dungeons and Dragons. .
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