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String Theory welcomes New York based string quartet, Brooklyn Rider, for its Chattanooga debut performance at the Hunter Museum of American Art on Thursday, April 11. The event concludes the fourth season of String Theory at the Hunter.

Praised for its “stunningly imaginative” performances (Lucid Culture), Brooklyn Rider combines an eclectic repertoire with a gripping performance style that continues to draw critical acclaim from classical, world, and rock critics.

One of the most innovative string quartets on stage today, the group is composed of Nicholas Chords, viola; Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violin; and Eric Jacobsen, cello. Brooklyn Rider has come together to share one unique voice through its vision of using the quartet as a vehicle for communication across history and geography.

Brooklyn Rider plays everything from Haydn to its own original compositions. The group’s members share experience as members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and have collaborated with artists such as Bela Fleck, Philip Glass, and Kayhan Kalhor, virtuoso of the Persian kamancheh, an ancient cousin of the violin.
The quartet has been increasingly active in the recording studio, including the much-praised Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass on the composer’s Orange Mountain Music label. Violinist Gandelsman launched In A Circle Records in 2008 with the release of Brooklyn Rider’s eclectic debut recording, “Passport,” followed by “Dominant Curve” in 2010, and “Seven Steps” in 2012. A long-standing relationship between Brooklyn Rider and Kayhan Kalhor resulted in the critically acclaimed 2008 recording, Silent City.
April’s String Theory program begins with Musical Dialogues at 6 p.m. led by Artistic Director Gloria Chien and the guest artists. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m., and includes the quartet’s original composition, “Seven Steps,” Beethoven’s “Great String Quartet in C# Minor, Op.131,” as well as selections of traditional Romanian music.

String Theory at the Hunter is a chamber music series presented by Chien in partnership with the Hunter Museum of American Art and Lee University.

As a part of String Theory’s effort to contribute to the community, the group will make an outreach presentation earlier Thursday afternoon at the Alexian Brothers Senior Neighbors.

Tickets are available by calling the Hunter at (423) 267-0968. Individual concert tickets are: $25 for Hunter Museum members and String Theory donors; $10 for students with valid ID; Non-Member Price: $35. (A $5 fee is applied to all tickets sold at the door.)

For more information about Brooklyn Rider, please visit www.brooklynrider.com.

For more information about String Theory or to purchase tickets, please visit http://stringtheorymusic.org/.