November 8, 2015

Second Sundays at 6 Concert Series: Chartreuse and Ayuda Quartet. Sound by Jon Monteverde. 

Chartreuse is violinist Myra Hinrichs (Chicago), violist Carrie Frey (New York City), and cellist Helen Newby (San Francisco). The tri-coastal trio specializes in collaborating and commissioning. This season they will be working with Bethany Younge, Aaron Holloway-Nahum, Scott Rubin, and Christopher Preissing, and releasing their debut EP, "on water," featuring recent works of Peter Swendsen, Luke Carlson, Matthew Chamberlain, and Theophilus Chandler.

Like the liqueur with which Chartreuse shares its name, the trio’s flavor comes from the wide-ranging natural influences of the musicians and composers they work with and are inspired by. “They are committed to the cause of new music, and they know how to convey that commitment through their playing,” said Cleveland Classical (January 2015).

For this Transistor performance, Chartreuse performed as a violin-viola duo.

Visit their website.

The Ayuda Quartet came together as friends in the Civic Orchestra and embarked together on the idea of forming an unconventional string quartet. Through the integration of music traditions past and present, the Ayuda Quartet blends deft classical artistry with refined modern pop sensibilities. The quartet strives to redefine the role of chamber music in today's world.

With their love of chamber music and art, the quartet launched the Flow Concert Series in the summer of 2015. Flow brings music from the concert hall to small spaces in celebration of the intimacy of music and art. The series is deliberately intimate, taking place in modest spaces, specifically designed to highlight the personal, emotional and intrinsic connection between the listener and the performers. Flow performances include poetry, visual arts and dance in combination with a set of musical pieces and songs.

The Ayuda Quartet have a growing demand in the studio as well, recently collaborating with Grammy-winning producer David Hodges and most recently with America's Got Talent finalist Sharon Irving, collaborating on her debut release. The arrangements are by John Arndt, a Grammy-nominated producer/arranger based in Chicago.

The Ayuda Quartet is Rita Andrade (viola), Myra Hinrichs (violin), Liz Oar (cello) and Danielle Seaman (violin). For this performance they were joined on vocals by Hannaniah Whitley, on keyboard by John Arndt, and on percussion by Peter Manheim. Kayla Newman read poetry.

Visit the Flow Concert Series website.