The Harlem Quartet believes classical music could use a breath of fresh air, and they’re here to bring it.
The Grammy Award-winning New York-based ensemble has a mission to advance diversity in classical music and they’re taking that mission to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
The string quartet’s performance, part of the 25th season of Music at Noon: The Logan Series, takes place at noon in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building. The event is part of the college’s Dr. Martin Luther King Annual Commemoration. Admission is free, and reserved parking for audience members will be available in the Reed Lot.
The Harlem Quartet works to engage young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire that includes works by minority composers. Since 2006, the group’s mission has led them to perform all around the world, including a 2009 performance at the White House for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, and a tour of South Africa in 2012. In 2013, the group received a Grammy Award for their collaboration with jazz pianist Chick Corea.
“The Harlem Quartet is a formidable ensemble whose members play these highly demanding scores with infectious vitality, breezy confidence and (most importantly) an affectionate warmth that one would scarcely have thought possible,” wrote Julian Haylock in a review for The Strad Magazine.
Music at Noon: The Logan Series was founded by Kay Logan in 1989 and receives major support from Mrs. Logan. Additional funding is provided by the Penn State Behrend Student Activity Fee, and the program also receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Additional support for the program is provided in part from an Erie Arts & Culture Project Grant, made possible by community contributions to the Combined Arts & Cultural Campaign and the Erie Arts Endowment.
For more information about The Logan Series or The Harlem Quartet’s appearance, contact series director Gary Viebranz at 814-898-6289 or email gav3@psu.edu.