Daedalus Quartet - Bruce Adolphe

Daedalus Quartet — Bruce Adolphe
Concert & Residency Collaboration

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PROJECT BACKGROUND
BesenArts is pleased to announce a new collaboration between the Daedalus Quartet and composer, author, and lecturer Bruce Adolphe. Bruce Adolphe is perhaps most widely known as the Piano Puzzler of National Public Radio’s Performance Today, heard on some 300 stations through the U.S. He is also the Artistic and Education Advisor of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and has written works for many of the world’s most renowned artists, including Itzhak Perlman, Sylvia McNair, the Beaux Arts Trio, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Caramoor Festival, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Founded in the summer of 2000, the Daedalus Quartet was Grand Prize Winner of the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition, and has since been heard widely throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Carnegie Hall nominated the quartet for the European Concert Hall Organization’s Rising Stars program for the 2004-2005 season, leading to debuts throughout Europe and presentation on Carnegie Hall’s “Distinctive Debuts” series. The Daedalus Quartet is currently serving as quartet-in-residence at Columbia University.

As the current Chamber Music Society Two young string quartet in residence with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Daedalus Quartet has worked frequently with Mr. Adolphe in a variety of educational and performance settings. The first such collaboration was in early 2005, a presentation of “A Diagnosis of the Serioso Quartet,” part of the Society’s “Inside Chamber Music” series. They were asked to repeat this presentation at the 2006 National Conference of Chamber Music America. The reaction was most enthusiastic, with many presenting organizations inquiring whether the Daedalus and Mr. Adolphe would offer this collaboration on tour. In response, we have developed a package of activities that can be organized into residency programs to suit every community.

PROJECT COMPONENTS

A DIAGNOSIS OF THE SERIOSO QUARTET
It seems that Beethoven’s String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95, the “Serioso,” suffers from Tourette Syndrome! Or so Bruce Adolphe has diagnosed, based on a perusal of the symptoms and a careful listening to what is one of Beethoven’s most unusual and experimental works. The Daedalus Quartet assists in this humorous yet thoughtful 45-60 minute diagnosis, offering extensive musical examples. If the Diagnosis is done as a stand-alone event, it concludes with a complete performance of the work. The Diagnosis can also be performed as a pre-concert feature, integrated into a full-length concert, or offered as a special donor/subscriber event.

PIANO PUZZLERS
If Performance Today is broadcast in your community, a large pool of Bruce Adolphe fans will be clamoring to hear Piano Puzzlers live and get to know the man behind them. Piano Puzzlers are mini-compositions in which Mr. Adolphe has set a well-known tune in the style of a famous classical composer, for example “Alouette” in the style of Schubert. In the on-air version, Mr. Adolphe plays the composition for a listener, whose task is to name the tune and the composer. Piano Puzzlers can be offered in a variety of settings, for example as a stand-alone event, as a pre-concert feature, just after intermission during a public concert, or as a special donor/subscriber event. Mr. Adolphe will also create Puzzlers especially for children to integrate into family and children’s concerts.
Click here to hear Puzzler examples from the NPR website.

PUBLIC CONCERTS
The suggested program for formal concerts in this residency project will be Beethoven’s “Serioso” quartet, Mr. Adolphe’s String Quartet No. 4 “Whispers of Mortality,” and Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor. Whispers of Mortality, commissioned by Concert Artists Guild for the Miami String Quartet, has been performed some sixty times throughout the United States. (Other programs options will be available.) A recording of Mr. Adolphe’s quartet is available on request.

FAMILY & CHILDREN’S CONCERTS
When is it appropriate to snore in a concert hall? During a performance of Bruce Adolphe’s Urban Scenes for String Quartet and Kids, when the great snoring solo is performed by a kid from the audience. Kids also come up on stage and play car horns, sirens, birdcalls, and slide whistles — and they even speak lines as actors. All this is coordinated with the Daedalus Quartet’s performance of this 20 minute work, which has been performed by numerous ensembles and thousands and thousands of kids everywhere. Urban Scenes will be the centerpiece, along with music of Beethoven and Debussy, of these 45 to 60 minute concerts for young listeners hosted by Mr. Adolphe, with the overall topic being the composer’s creative process. Special children’s Piano Puzzlers will be featured in these programs.

MASTER CLASSES
The Daedalus Quartet will offer master classes and coaching sessions, both for ensembles and individually for their various instruments, to students of all levels. Mr. Adolphe will offer composition master classes.

IMPROVISATION WORKSHOPS
Mr. Adolphe will offer improvisation workshops designed for young performers, generally ages ten and up (though also appropriate for advanced younger students). These workshops can be offered with or without the participation of the Daedalus Quartet.

BOOK TALKS
Mr. Adolphe is the author of three acclaimed books, The Mind’s Ear: Exercises for Improving the Musical Imagination for Performers, Listeners, and Composers; What to Listen for in the World (reflections on music in our lives); and Of Mozart, Parrots, and Cherry Blossoms in the Wind: A Composer Explores Mysteries of the Musical Mind. Mr. Adolphe will read from his books and answer questions at book stores and libraries. The Mind’s Ear can be the basis of a hands-on session at a music school.

PRE- AND POST-CONCERT LECTURES & DISCUSSIONS
Mr. Adolphe, with the optional collaboration of the Daedalus Quartet, will offer a variety of pre- and post-concert features, ranging from question/answer sessions to detailed discussions of the concert program from the point of view of the listener and performer, and of course the “Diagnosis of the Serioso Quartet” and Piano Puzzlers.

INTERVIEWS
The Daedalus Quartet and Mr. Adolphe will be available for a full range of media interviews, both while in your community and in advance.

DESIGNING YOUR RESIDENCY

This collaboration will primarily be available in the form of one- and two-day residencies; examples of packages you might arrange follow in order to give you an idea of the quantity and range of activity possible. Larger projects are open to discussion, and whatever the size project you wish to explore, we will organize the residency to suit your community’s needs.

EXAMPLE OF A ONE-DAY RESIDENCY
Morning	Two children’s concerts at a public school
Afternoon	Improvisation Workshop by Mr. Adolphe at a community music school
Evening	Public concert with a “A Diagnosis of the Serioso Quartet” as a pre-concert feature and a selection of Piano Puzzlers as a post-intermission feature

EXAMPLE OF A TWO-DAY RESIDENCY
Day One
Morning	Simultaneous master classes by the Daedalus Quartet (ensembles/solo strings) and Mr. Adolphe (composition)
Afternoon	Family Concert
Evening	Special Donor or Subscriber Event — “A Diagnosis of the Serioso Quartet”
Day Two
Morning	Live radio interview with Mr. Adolphe and the Daedalus Quartet, including discussion and performance of music from the evening’s program
Afternoon	Book Talk and signing by Mr. Adolphe at a store or library
Evening	Public concert with a pre-concert lecture on the program by Mr. Adolphe with musical examples from the Daedalus Quartet, and a selection of Piano Puzzlers as a post-intermission feature

MORE INFORMATION
To request materials and for information on fees and availability, please contact: