Pacifica Quartet Presents Wooster Chamber Music Series Concert April 20

Performance will be held in The College of Wooster's Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center

The Pacifica Quartet, featuring (from left) Brandon Vamos (cello), Simin Ganatra (violin), Masumi Per Rostad (viola), and Sibbi Bernhardsson (violin), will perform at the next Wooster Chamber Music Series concert on Sunday, April 20, in Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center at The College of Wooster.

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Pacifica Quartet, winners of Chamber Music America's coveted Cleveland Quartet Award, comes to town for the next Wooster Chamber Music Series concert on Sunday, April 20. The performance begins at 3 p.m. in Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center (525 E. University St.) on the campus of The College of Wooster. The program will consist of Mendelssohn's Quartet in A, Op. 13; Ligeti's Quartet No. 1, "Metamorphoses Nocturnes" (1953-54); and Beethoven's Quartet in C Sharp, Op. 131. Admission is $10 for general seating and $8 for students and senior citizens. Tickets are available at the Wilson Bookstore in Lowry Center (1189 Beall Ave.) and at Maurer Pharmacy (1827 Cleveland Rd.).

Formed in 1994, the Pacifica Quartet quickly gained international recognition, winning top prizes in several leading international competitions. In 2002, the group was appointed to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS Two program for gifted young musicians. Gramophone magazine described the Quartet as "one of the finest and most energetic quartets of the younger generation." In May 2006, the Pacifica became the second chamber music ensemble ever selected to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

The Quartet has collaborated with a number of distinguished artists, including pianist WuHan, who made her College of Wooster Chamber Music Series debut in a concert with David Finckel last year and appeared again in February.

Like all of the ensembles in this year's Chamber Music Series, the members of the Pacifica have been independently praised for their talents. Simin Ganatra (violin), a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, has won several awards and prizes as a soloist, including first prize in the Union League of Chicago, the Pasadena Instrumental, and the Minnesota Sinfonia competitions. Brandon Vamos (cello) has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras worldwide, including the Taipei City Symphony, Seoul's Suwon Symphony, and the Samara Symphony in Russia. Sibbi Bernhardsson (violin) has made several television appearances with fellow Icelander Bjork on the "MTV Awards," "Saturday Night Live," and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Masumi Per Rostad (viola) was awarded the Bronx Arts Ensemble's Young Artist Competition Grand Prize and the Lillian Fuchs Award for outstanding graduating violist at the Juilliard School.

Additional information about the Pacifica Quartet's concert is available by phone (330-263-2115) or e-mail (imatson@wooster.edu). The Wooster Chamber Music Series will conclude its season with a performance by Hakan Rosengren and the Chiara String Quartet on Sunday, May 4, in Scheide Music Center.