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St. Lawrence String Quartet

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CenterArts presents The St. Lawrence String Quartet on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 8 p.m. in the Van Duzer Theatre, HSU.“Celebrating 20 years, this group has matured and deepened without losing its freshness and edge,” The Globe and Mail. Tickets are $45 general, $40 Senior/Child and $25 HSU students. Tickets are available at the Works in Arcata and Eureka, University Ticket Office at HSU or at centerarts.humboldt.edu.

Geoff Nuttall      Scott St. John 
-violin        -violin 
Lesley Robertson     Christopher Costanza 
-viola       -cello 
 
The St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) has established itself among the world-class chamber ensembles of its generation. Its mission: bring every piece of music to the audience in vivid color, with pronounced communication and teamwork, and great respect to the composer. 

Since winning both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1992, the quartet has delighted audiences with its spontaneous, passionate, and dynamic performances. Alex Ross of The New Yorker magazine writes, “the St. Lawrence are remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making, exalted as it is, but for the joy they take in the act of connection.”  

In concert, the foursome regularly delivers traditional quartet repertoire, but is also fervently committed to performing and expanding the works of living composers. This season sees them performing new works by both John Adams and Osvaldo Golijov. Adams penned his “String Quartet” expressly for the St. Lawrence. Golijov’s forthcoming new work is expected to build on the success of their previous collaboration, which culminated in the twice-Grammy-nominated SLSQ recording of the composer’s Yiddishbbuk (EMI) in 2002. 

The SLSQ has been involved in numerous inventive collaborations, including projects with the renowned Pilobolus Dance Theatre and the Emerson Quartet. In 2007 they joined with soprano Heidi Grant Murphy and pianist Kevin Murphy to premiere Roberto Sierra’s “Songs from the Diaspora” – a commission through the Music Accord consortium. 

Early in their career, the SLSQ was privileged to study with the Emerson, Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets, and have for many years been passionate educators themselves. Since 1998 they have held the position of Ensemble in Residence at Stanford University. This residency includes working with students of music as well as extensive collaborations with other faculty and departments using music to explore a myriad of topics. 

Violist Lesley Robertson is a founding member of the group, and hails from Edmonton Alberta. Cellist Christopher Costanza is from Utica, NY and joined the quartet in 2003. Violinists Geoff Nuttall and Scott St. John both grew up in London, Ontario; Geoff is a founding member and Scott joined in 2006. Depending on concert repertoire, the two alternate the role of first violin. All four members of the quartet live and teach at beautiful Stanford University, in the Bay Area of California.  

The SLSQ is deeply committed to bringing music to less traditional venues outside the classroom or concert hall. Regardless of the venue, the St. Lawrence players maintain a strong desire to share the wonders of chamber music with their listeners, a characteristic of the foursome that has led them to a more informal performance style than one might expect from chamber musicians. “Play every concert like it’s your last; every phrase like it’s the most important thing you’ve ever said,” Geoff Nuttall asserts.

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