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	Haywood County Arts Council

Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival
Featuring the Parker Quartet

The Swannanoa
Chamber Music Festival
will soon mark its 15th
season in Waynesville
under the sponsorship of
the Haywood County Arts
Council. The series of
five concerts showcases
world-class musicians
who perform a variety of
chamber music works.
The Parker Quartet will
appear for the first time
as the Quartet in
Residence for the
festival.

Quartet members are The New York Times calls the Parker Quartet “something
extraordinary.” The Boston Globe hails their “fiercely committed performances.” The
Washington Post declares them “a quartet that deserves close attention.” Just three
months after winning the 2005 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Quartet captured
First Prize and the Mozart Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition,
sparking international acclaim.
The Parker Quartet’s 2007-2008 season included debut performances at the Mostly
Mozart and Caramoor Festivals and at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC (on a
program with the Borromeo String Quartet). Other highlights included engagements with
the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, the Rockport Chamber Music Society, the
Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Music in the Park in St. Paul, and Shriver Hall in
Baltimore. The group also toured Europe in connection with their victory at the Bordeaux
Competition, with concerts in South Korea at the Tongyeong Festival in spring 2008.
Equally at home in a celebrated concert hall or a downtown club, the Parker Quartet
embraces opportunities to bring their performances to new audiences in non-traditional
venues. The ensemble challenge artificial boundaries by performing in bars and clubs
nationwide, garnering media attention with features in Time Out NY, The Boston Globe,
Chamber Music Magazine and Musical America.com. In the Fall of 2007, the group
became the first ever String Quartet in Residence at Barbes Bar and Performance
Space in Brooklyn. As part of this residency, the Parker Quartet perform a series of
collaborative concerts with artists of various genres including Jazz, Folk and World Music.
The Parker Quartet’s 2007 debut CD (Zig Zag), featuring Bartok’s String Quartets Nos. 2
and 5, received high praise: “The Parkers’ Bartok spins the illusion of spontaneous
improvisation…they have absorbed the language; they have the confidence to play
freely with the music and the instinct to bring it off” (Gramophone). The ensemble’s
upcoming release, on the Naxos label, is the complete string quartets of the late György
Ligeti, due out in 2008-2009; followed by an album of Haydn quartets for Zig Zag.
Recent highlights include concerts at Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series, the Wolf
Trap Discovery Series, Ravinia’s Rising Stars Series, Jordan Hall and Gardner Museum
in Boston, the Cerritos Center, Clark Memorial Library at UCLA, the Phillips Collection,
Merkin Concert Hall, and Schneider Concerts. The Quartet has also performed at
Symphony Space as part of Concert Artists Guild’s New Works Series and at Weill
Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Concert Artists Guild’s Winners Series.
Dedicated to passing on the great chamber music tradition, the Parker Quartet spends a
great deal of time each year working with young musicians through educational
residency activities. The group served as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence
of the Caramoor Center, which featured a three-week long educational residency,
culminating in performances at the Caramoor. They were also the ensemble-in-
residence at the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival. Beginning in September 2008,
the group will become one of the first Quartets-in-Residence with the Saint Paul
Chamber Orchestra.
The Parker Quartet’s members hold graduate degrees in performance and chamber
music from the New England Conservatory of Music and were part of the NEC’s
prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program. The Quartet was founded
there and in 2002 and 2003 held the post of NEC’s Honors Ensemble.
When asked the origin of the ensemble name, Kee-Hyun Kim explains:
“We are named after the Omni Parker House, in Boston. We all came from different
places (Dan from L.A., Karen from Wisconsin, Jess from Houston and myself from Seoul,
Korea) [and] when we first met it seemed fitting to choose a name that was such a
landmark of Boston. The Parker House is not only the oldest Hotel in Boston, it is the
longest-running hotel in the U.S., and was made a landmark in 1855. It’s also the home
to the creation of the Boston cream pie and Parker house rolls. Literary greats used to
assemble here, including Hawthorne, Longfellow and Emerson.”

The Haywood County Arts Council series will take place at the Performing Arts Center,
250 Pigeon Street in Waynesville at 7:30 pm on the following Sundays: June 21, 28, July
5, 12, and 19. The traditional receptions in the lobby after the concerts give audience
members the opportunity to meet and speak with the musicians. Those desiring more
background about the repertoire of upcoming concerts may attend the free, informal
lecture-demonstrations on Thursdays--June 18, 25, July 2, 9, 16--at 7:30 pm in room 20
of the Music Building (adjoining Kittredge Theatre) at Warren Wilson College in
Swannanoa, NC.

In addition to the Parker Quartet, Festival Co-directors Bill Hoyt, French horn, and Paul
Nitsch, piano, have assembled an outstanding group of returning musicians including
Inessa Zaretsky, piano; Cynthia Wilson, oboe; and John Kehayas, bassoon. Newcomer
George Pope, flute, replaces long-time flutist Tyra Gilb. This season, the Festival
welcomes two guest musicians who will perform in the fourth concert. Richard Illman will
play the trumpet and piccolo trumpet. Jazz composer and pianist Paul Nitsch, this year's
composer in residence, will present the world premiere of a work by Newman. Program
IV will be the Festival's first-ever mixed classical and jazz concert.

Works by Mozart, Beethoven, Dvořák, Fauré, Poulenc, Bartók, Dussek, Hindemith,
Brahms, Telemann, Debussy, Nielsen, and Schubert are scheduled in the programs
offered in the series this season. Prior to the second concert, a group of Lori Hammel's
violin students will play a short piece entitled "Fandango" by Frank McClean. To
encourage music appreciation and enhance performance skills, the Festival gives young
musicians the opportunity to play before a mature audience.

Thanks to many generous sponsors, the ticket prices for this series remain modest.
Season tickets may be purchased for $75, and individual tickets for $20. A
complimentary guest ticket for a concert of choice is included with each five-concert
season ticket purchase. Students 25 years old and under are admitted free of charge
with valid ID.

Tickets are now available at the Haywood County Arts Council. They may be purchased
with a credit card or by check, made payable to Haywood County Arts Council. Those
wishing to receive tickets by mail should enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope
with their order and payment and send these to: Haywood County Arts Council, P.O. Box
306, Waynesville, NC 28786.