The South Bend Symphony Orchestra announces today the world premiere of Grammy-nominated Anna Clyne’s Quarter Days will open the 2023-24 June H. Edwards Mosaic Series. Anna Clyne’s Quarter Days is a concerto for string quartet and orchestra premiering on October 22, 2023, at 2:30 p.m., at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on the University of Notre Dame’s campus. The concerto is a co-commission for the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association and the South Bend Symphony and will feature the renowned Euclid Quartet as soloists.
Described as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods” in a New York Times profile and as “fearless” by NPR, Grammy-nominated Anna Clyne is one of the most in-demand composers today. In 2022 Clyne was named the eighth most performed contemporary composer in the world and the most performed living, female British composer. In the buildup to this moment, the Symphony has featured some of her works in recent seasons.
Commemorating its 50th anniversary, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Association brings alums the Euclid Quarter to open the program and feature on the Clyne.
“Anna Clyne’s talent and artistry are unparalleled, and we are thrilled to celebrate the synergy of chamber music and orchestral performance during our 50th Anniversary,” said Scott Campbell, Fischoff’s Executive Director.
This extraordinary collaboration not only celebrates the rich legacy of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition but comes on the heels of the Symphony’s 90th Anniversary.
“Last year we brought the incomparable Yo-Yo Ma to South Bend not in recital but playing with our Symphony. It’s entirely appropriate that this brings us a commission from one of the most important voices writing for orchestra, Anna Clyne,” remarked Justus Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Symphony. “The world-class artistry that is the hallmark of our performances is at its best when we’re collaborating with our peers locally, and I couldn’t be more excited to have Fischoff and the Euclid joining us on this amazing project.”
Music Director Alastair Willis says “It’s an extraordinary honor to be giving the world premiere of Anna’s piece. I couldn’t be prouder and more excited about this opportunity for South Bend.”
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra thanks Jack M. Champaigne for supporting the June H. Edwards Mosaic Series in memory of his friend, June; Jordan Lexus of Mishawaka for being a distinguished Artistic Sponsor of the 2023-24 Season; and Craig and Carol Kapson for supporting the works of contemporary composers.
SUBSCRIPTIONS / TICKETS
Subscriptions
Discounts, priority seating, and other exclusive benefits are available to season subscribers. Subscribe at www.southbendsymphony.org or by phone at (574) 232-6343.
Tickets
ONLINE – www.dpactickets.nd.edu/16043/16044
PHONE – DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Box Office (574) 631-2800.
(12 pm – 6 pm, Monday – Friday)
IN-PERSON – Visit our friends at the DeBartolo (100 Performing Arts Center Notre Dame, IN 46556) during the times listed above or two hours before any performance. To VIEW the 2023-24 Season schedule, visit www.southbendsymphony.org
Dates, programs, and venues are subject to change.
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About the South Bend Symphony Orchestra
The South Bend Symphony Orchestra lives its mission by engaging the community in exploring orchestral music in all its forms, producing more than 20 mainstage programs serving more than 17,000 attendees annually. As the region’s only professional orchestra, the Symphony is committed to a diversity of sound and a robust arts community in Michiana.
In addition to being recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and other state and local arts funding organizations, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra is the recipient of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence, which recognizes the best-run nonprofit organization in St. Joseph County, Indiana.
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About Fischoff National Chamber Music Association
Founded in 1973 in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition has grown to become the largest chamber music competition in the United States, and one of the most prestigious classical music prizes attainable today. Since its founding, more than 8,000 musicians have participated, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in music performance and education.
This unique arts organization has secured its place as the nation’s premier educational chamber music competition because of the caliber of its jurors, performance venues and well-known alumni. It is also known for extensive outreach programming during the competition and throughout the year. The Fischoff uniquely partners with competition alumni to bring free, innovative music programs directly to children of all ages in their own schools and community centers. Since 1995, these programs have served nearly 100,000 community children, reaching more than 4,000 underserved and at-risk youth annually.
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About the Euclid Quartet
The Euclid Quartet enjoys one of the most highly regarded reputations of any chamber ensemble of its generation. Captivating audiences and critics ranging from Carnegie Hall to school classrooms to radio and television broadcasts, the quartet consistently performs to enthusiastic acclaim throughout the country.
Formed in Ohio in 1998, the Euclid Quartet takes its name from the famous Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, home to a wealth of renowned artistic and cultural institutions. Within three years, the ensemble was awarded the String Quartet Fellowship of the Aspen Music Festival, where it was invited to return for the subsequent summer’s concert season. The quartet was also invited to study with the Emerson String Quartet at the Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshop.
Highlights of the Euclid Quartet’s career include significant global recognition as the first American string quartet to be awarded a top prize at the prestigious Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. Prior to its Japanese laurels, the quartet also won awards in numerous United States competitions, including the Hugo Kauder International Competition for String Quartets, the Carmel Chamber Music Competition and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. In 2009, the Euclid Quartet was awarded the esteemed “American Masterpieces” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fifteen years ago, the Euclid Quartet was appointed to the prestigious string quartet residency at Indiana University South Bend, where its members teach private lessons and coach chamber music. Passionately devoted to presenting the highest quality chamber music to young audiences, these seasoned teaching artists have performed for thousands of students and young adults, in part through support from the National Endowment for the Arts and collaborations with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association.
The Euclid is a frequent guest ensemble at American and Canadian music festivals, among them the Mostly Modern Festival, Aspen, Great Lakes, Kent/Blossom and Orford festivals, while expanded programs have included collaborations with internationally renowned artists, including James Dunham, Gregory Fulkerson, Warren Jones, Paul Katz, Joseph Silverstein and Alexander Toradze. As passionate advocates for new music, the Euclid Quartet has commissioned and premiered contemporary works by numerous notable composers including Robert Paterson, Armando Bayolo, Jorge Muniz and Dan Welcher. They look forward to premiering a quartet concerto by Anna Clyne, commissioned to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Fischoff Competition in 2023.
Active in the recording studio, the Euclid Quartet recently issued a disc of Dvořák and Wynton Marsalis on Afinat Records. The Strad Magazine praised the new recording: “The members of the Euclid Quartet hurl themselves into the fray with alacrity, relishing the music’s invention with contagious wit and virtuosity.” Previous releases include the complete string quartets of Béla Bartók on Artek Recordings. The American Record Guide raved about these discs, “rarely has a group found such meaning and vision.” Their debut CD, on Centaur records, features the first four quartets of Hugo Kauder, a refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria who fled to the United States in the 1940s. He defied the atonal trend of his generation with his uniquely harmonic, contrapuntal style. The Euclid Quartet is eager to share its upcoming release of a CD featuring the quartets of Debussy and Grieg.
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About Anna Clyne
Clyne has been commissioned and presented by the world’s most dynamic and revered arts institutions, including the Barbican, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Philharmonic, MoMA, Philharmonie de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet, and the Sydney Opera House; and her music has opened such events as the Edinburgh International Festival, The Last Night of the Proms, and the New York Philharmonic’s season.
Clyne often collaborates on creative projects across the music industry, including Between the Rooms, a film with choreographer Kim Brandstrup and LA Opera, as well as The Nico Project at the Manchester International Festival, a stage work about pop icon Nico’s life that featured Clyne’s reimagining of The Marble Index for orchestra and voices. Clyne has also reimagined tracks from Thievery Corporation’s The Cosmic Game for the electronica duo with orchestra, and her music has been programmed by such artists as Björk. Other recent collaborators include such notable musicians as Jess Gillam, Jeremy Denk, Martin Fröst, Pekka Kuusisto, and Yo-Yo Ma.
Clyne’s works are frequently choreographed for dance, with recent projects including the world premiere of choreographer Pam Tanowitz’s dance set to Breathing Statues for the Royal Ballet in London and performances of DANCE by the San Francisco Ballet with choreography by Nicolas Blanc. Her fascination with visual art has inspired several projects including ATLAS, inspired by a portfolio of work by Gerhard Richter; Color Field, inspired by the artwork of Mark Rothko; and Abstractions, inspired by five contemporary paintings. In addition, Clyne seeks innovation through new technology, developing the Augmented Orchestra with sound designer Jody Elff; the technology expands the sound-world of the orchestra through computer-controlled processes, and will feature in Wild Geese for the 2023 Cabrillo Festival.
In 2023-2024, Clyne serves as Composer-in-Residence with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their Artistic Team, as well as Artist-in-Residence with Symphony Orchestra of Castilla y León. Past residencies include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. Clyne’s music is represented on several labels and her works Prince of Clouds and Night Ferry were nominated for 2015 GRAMMY Awards. Her cello concerto DANCE, recorded by soloist Inbal Segev, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Marin Alsop, has garnered 10 million plays on Spotify.
Clyne’s music is published exclusively by Boosey & Hawkes.