The Forum presents Pacifica, the award-winning quartet from the Casals Festival, the number one festival of the Caribbean. In 16 years, the quartet has reached the top of the international music scene. In 2009, the group received the Grammy Award for “best chamber music performance” and was named “2009 Ensemble of the Year” by Musical America. The quartet will play at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9, at Prior Jolleck Hall, Antilles campus.
All four members of the quartet have won international recognition in their own right.
Simin Ganatra, violin, has won wide recognition for her performances throughout the United States and abroad. She has been described by critics as an “excellent and unique violinist” and heralded for “creating a miraculous sense of flow and other worldly beauty.” She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where she was concertmaster of the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra and recipient of the Louis Kaufman Prize for outstanding performance in chamber music.
Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin, began his violin studies at the age of five in Iceland, his native country. He has received several awards and prizes, including the Icelandic “Lindar” award, and the release of his solo CD on the Icelandic label Skref won praise for its “beautiful tone and fantastic performance.” A graduate of Reykjavik College of Music, Bernhardsson also earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberline Conservatory of Music, where he was elected to the Honorary Society, and a Master of Music degree from Northern Illinois University. His international television appearances have included the MTV Awards, Saturday Night Live and the Jay Leno Show with the award-winning pop star Bjork.
Masumi Rostad, viola, has been heralded as headed for “the big career” by New York Magazine and has distinguished himself with numerous prizes and awards. Rostad was winner of the Bronx Arts Ensemble’s Young Artist Competition Grand Prize and the Lilliam Fuchs Award for outstanding graduating violist at the Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. He has performed internationally as a member of the International Sejong Soloists and the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and has participated in the Marlboro Music Festival.
Brandon Vamos, cello, has performed solo and chamber music recitals both in the U.S. and abroad to critical acclaim. Praised by critics as a “first rate cellist” who plays with “gutsy bravura,” Vamos has appeared as soloist with several orchestras worldwide, including performances with the Taipei City Symphony, the Suwon Symphony in Seoul, the Samara Symphony in Russia, and the New Philharmonia Orchestra and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in Chicago. He has also studied with distinguished artists such as Tanya Carey in Macomb, Illinois, and Aldo Parisot at Yale University, where he earned a Master of Music degree.
Tickets are $40, $10 for teachers and free for students with ID. Ticket outlets: Reichhold Center, Dockside Bookshop, Interiors (Ft. Mylner) and Home Again (Red Hook).
For information, call 693-1559 (Reichhold Center box office) or 690-4350 (The Forum).