Concert Programs
Dark Queen Mantra
Music of Terry Riley featuring guitarist Gyan Riley
The center of this program is Dark Queen Mantra, a quintet commissioned, premiered, and recorded by Del Sol and Gyan in 2015 in honor of Terry’s 80th Birthday. Dark Queen Mantra is available as on all-Riley concert including his rarely played The Wheel & Mythic Birds Waltz, or in mixed programs chosen from music by Stefano Scodanibbio, Ben Johnston, Chinary Ung, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Huang Ruo, and Gabriela Lena Frank.
Pythagorean Americana
Experimental traditions and alternative tunings from American composers
The Del Sol Quartet has delved deep into the American Experimental tradition, especially focusing on Ben Johnston’s groundbreaking compositions in “Just Intonation” – a way of tuning based on perfect ratios. Johnston’s work is both radically inventive and solidly rooted in the American vernacular. You won’t find these notes on a piano keyboard, but you may find yourself tapping your foot and humming along anyhow! We always enjoy seeing this music fascinate and energize audiences – from rural towns to the UC Berkeley Math Sciences Research Institute to The Library of Congress.
Electronica
The vigor of amplified string quartet with electronica
Amplified String Quartet with electronic elements
Earth Cry
Peter Sculthorpe String Quartets with Stephen Kent, didjeridu
Australia’s greatest composer, Peter Sculthorpe created an enduring testament of environmental and social engagement through his string quartets. This program features his powerful string quartet music with the heart-rendering sound of didjeridu virtuoso Stephen Kent.
Calligraffiti
Innovation and tradition from internationally acclaimed composers.
Composer’s share their stories or their family’s stories about coming to America, interwoven with the music.
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