The Western Piedmont Symphony is pleased to introduce their newest quartet-in-residence – the Kontras Quartet. Kontras will be the featured artists in the Friends of the Quartet Chamber Classics Series. For a three year period, Kontras will work with the symphony in numerous outreach programs for the young and young at heart. They will maintain the principal chairs for their instrument in the orchestra; and will provide an advanced resource for music education within the community.

The Kontras Quartet was founded in Chicago, where all four members performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. The quartet has an international flavor: each member comes from a different continent.

Violinist Dmitri Pogorelov is from Russia, Violinist Francois Henkins is from South Africa, violist Ai Ishida is from Japan, and cellist Jean Hatmaker is from Illinois. Individual quartet members have performed in numerous orchestral groups both here and abroad, including solo performances.

The Quartet is dedicated to bringing chamber music to new audiences, offering fresh interpretations of the established string quartet repertoire, and presenting new compositions from South Africa, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

Appropriately, “Kontras” means “contrasts” in the Afrikaans language.

To view the Kontras Quartet 2011.2012 performance schedule, click here.

To learn more about the Kontras Quartet, visit their website.

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