ST. PAUL – April 5, 2011
For the 6nd year in a row, the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition will host America’s best high school string quartets here in St. Paul on Saturday, April 16. Young ensembles from across the United States will compete for prizes and prestige in the excellent acoustic of Sundin Music Hall at Hamline University. These stellar young quartets, through concerted effort and with the guidance of superb coaching, will perform 3 pieces from the chamber music repertoire for a distinguished jury. Prizes and recognition will follow the performances.
There are 2 distinct rounds in this year’s event: The Haydn Round will feature movements from the “Father” of the string quartet genre, and the Final Round will consist of a Romantic Era work and a Modern piece. Each quartet will be evaluated in the categories of Tone Quality, Intonation, Ensemble & Balance, and Musical Ideas. There will also be an audience prize awarded.
This year’s quartets were selected from applicants across the country by an esteemed preliminary jury of professional string players; Susan Bates from California, John McGrosso from Missouri and Laura Thielke from Massachusetts. The jury for the 2011 SPSQC Final Round will be internationally renowned Pacifica Quartet and the jury for the newly created Haydn Round will be the recent Grammy winning Parker Quartet. The Saint Paul String Quartet competition was founded in 2006 by Artaria String Quartet violinist Ray Shows. Mr. Shows is the Artistic Director and Administrator of this annual event.
The SPSQC will soon present its 6th Annual String Quartet Competition in Sundin Music Hall on the campus of Hamline University. Created as a performance showcase for advanced quartet studies, this unique nationally ranked event has received superlative acclaim by Strings magazine and many of the most renowned teachers in the country. Its stated aim is to “celebrate excellence in string quartet playing and foster an increased appreciation for the chamber music art form, and enhance the music culture in this country.”
Founded in 2006 by Artaria String Quartet violinist Ray Shows, the competition is open to high school string quartets from around the country and is always adjudicated by a professional string quartet. With only string quartets competing, it is a simple comparison of ‘apples to apples’. Groups from across the country submit CD recordings of three masterworks of the repertoire. These unedited performances are evaluated by independent jurors in the categories: Tone Quality, Intonation, Ensemble & Balance, and Musical Ideas. The top scoring quartets are invited to compete in the Final Round each April.
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