Music Mondays: Catalyst Quartet & Karen Slack
Free (RSVP available but not required)
- Karen Slack, soprano
- Aaron Wunsch, piano
Florence Price — Piano Quintet in E minor
Scott Gendel — Kids Who Die (New York premiere; text by Langston Hughes)
The "invariably energetic and finely burnished" Catalyst Quartet (The NY Times) is this season's Quartet in Residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Joining them in a new collaboration is "feisty, rich-voiced" soprano Karen Slack (The NY Times), featured at the Metropolitan Opera in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Their program includes African American spirituals, Florence Price’s Piano Quintet in E Minor (with Artistic Director Aaron Wunsch) and a powerful setting of Langston Hughes's poem, Kids Who Die, for soprano, piano, and string quartet.
About Catalyst Quartet
Hailed by The New York Times at its Carnegie Hall debut as "invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor," the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet was founded by the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Organization in 2010. The ensemble (Karla Donehew Perez, violin; Abi Fayette, violin; Paul Laraia, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello) believes in the unity that can be achieved through music and imagine their programs and projects with this in mind, redefining and reimagining the classical music experience.
The Catalyst Quartet, known for "perfect ensemble unity" and "unequaled class of execution" (Lincoln Journal Star), has toured widely throughout the United States and abroad, including sold-out performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., at Chicago's Harris Theater, Miami's New World Center, and Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in New York. The quartet has been guest soloists with the Cincinnati Symphony, New Haven Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, and has served as principal players and featured ensemble with the Sphinx Organization's featured ensemble, the Sphinx Virtuosi, on six national tours. They have been invited to perform at important music festivals such as Mainly Mozart in San Diego, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Sitka Music Festival, Juneau Jazz and Classics, Strings Music Festival, and the Grand Canyon Music Festival, where they appear annually. The Catalyst Quartet was ensemble-in-residence at the Vail Dance Festival in 2016 and in the 2021-22 season were in residence with San Francisco Performances where they presented the complete series of works from their Uncovered Project. In 2022, the Catalyst Quartet was named ensemble in residence for the Chamber Music Northwest Festival in Portland and for the Met Museum's LiveArts series in NYC.
The Catalyst Quartet members hold degrees from The Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Juilliard School, and New England Conservatory.
http://www.catalystquartet.com/About Karen Slack, soprano
Hailed for possessing a voice of extraordinary beauty, a seamless legato and great dramatic depth, American soprano Karen Slack has garnered international renown for her artistic versatility, charisma and entrepreneurial endeavors. A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Slack is known for her dynamic and passionate performances in both lead operatic roles and on the concert stage; as a sought-after collaborator, curator, and artistic advisor; and for her ground-breaking approach to engagement.
https://mkiartists.com/karen-slack