Jupiter
String Quartet
The JUPITER STRING
QUARTET, formed in 2001, is a particularly intimate
group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Megan
Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (older sister of Meg),
and cellist Daniel McDonough (husband of Meg,
brother-in-law of Liz). The quartet chose its name because
Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at
the time of its formation, and the astrological symbol for
Jupiter resembles the number four. The quartet owes much
of its musical philosophy to the influences of the
original Cleveland Quartet and the current Takacs Quartet,
in which all four members form a dynamic and democratic
union.
The Jupiter String
Quartet places a strong emphasis on developing
relationships with future classical music audiences
through outreach work in the school systems and other
educational performances. They believe that chamber music,
because of the intensity of its interplay and
communication, is one of the most effective ways of
spreading an enthusiasm for “classical” music to new
audiences.
The Jupiters have been
fortunate to receive several recent chamber music honors,
including first prize in the Banff International String
Quartet Competition, grand prize in the Fischoff National
Chamber Music Competion, membership in Lincoln Center’s
Chamber Music Society Two, and Chamber Music America’s
Cleveland Quartet Award, which “honors and promotes a
rising young string quartet whose artistry demonstrates
that it is in the process of establishing a major career.”
The quartet also won the 2005 Young Concert Artists
International auditions and now holds YCA’s Helen F.
Whitaker Chamber Music Chair. Most recently, they were
honored to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant.
The quartet concertizes
across the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and
South America. They have enjoyed playing in such venues as
New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Boston’s
Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, and
Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, Corcoran Gallery, and
Library of Congress. Other recent concerts include debuts
in Albuquerque, Austin, Birmingham, Boulder, Buffalo,
Calgary, Chicago, Cincinnati, Davis, Dayton, Detroit,
Edmonton, Jacksonville, Joplin, Palo Alto, Raleigh-Durham,
San Antonio, San Diego, Tallahassee, Toronto, Vancouver,
and Winnipeg, among others. They have also been
enthusiastically received at several major music
festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, the
Vancouver Chamber Music Festival, the Caramoor
International Music Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber
Music Festival, the Honest Brook Festival, the Skaneateles
Festival, and the Yellow Barn Music Festival.
The Jupiter Quartet
repertoire at their New Orleans concert is:
Beethoven: Quartet in
B-Flat Major, Op. 8, No.6
Prokofiev: Quartet No. 2 in F-Major
--Intermission--
Mendelssohn: Quartet in D-Major, Op. 44, No. 1
