VERO BEACH — Responding to a last-minute scheduling opportunity, the Emerson Center has booked the highly acclaimed Miami Beach String Quartet for a Thursday, January 6 performance at their 27th Avenue venue. According to Richard Armitage, coordinator for this special performance, “We are so fortunate to have found this ‘open date’ on the schedules of the quartet members and The Emerson Center. As a result, our community will benefit from an exceptional performance by four of the most highly-regarded string musicians in the world.”
The quartet’s 7:00 PM performance will showcase two of the definitive selections in the string quartet repertoire. Both Schubert’s Quartet number 13 and Beethoven’s Opus 59 number 1, more commonly called the “Rasumovsky in F major,” are considered by avid quartet lovers to represent the intensity and intimacy that characterizes this musical genre.
“Quartet performances present a special opportunity for audiences,” observes Armitage. “When the Miami Beach String Quartet performs, our audience will enjoy the musical passions of four renowned performers from a vantage point that rarely can be achieved in a full symphony setting.”
The Miami Beach String Quartet comprises four exceptionally talented musicians, all experienced soloists.
Ian Maksin has been described as “one of the most unique and gifted artists of his generation.” This master cellist already has a reputation in Vero Beach where he plays Principal Cello for the Atlantic Classical Orchestra. He has just returned from a string of solo engagements in Chicago, Boston, and New York. Ian is a Russian born native of St. Petersburg, and a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music.
He has recorded several CDs including the very popular “Solo Flight” which includes the two complete Bach “Suites for Solo Cello” among other works for cello.
Violinist Aleksandr Zhuk was born into a celebrated musical family in Moscow. He started his musical studies at age six at the Gnessin School for Gifted Children. He holds degrees from the Utrecht Conservatory and won a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. He also performs with the Florida Grand Opera orchestra.
Serbian born violinist, Dina Kostic, holds degrees from Southern Methodist and Northwestern University. In addition to the MBSQ she plays with Chamber Music Palm Beach, the Florida Philharmonic and the New World Symphony. Dina performs regularly as a soloist and has a number of recording credits.
Chauncey Patterson, violist, studied at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Curtis Institute. He served as Principal Viola with both the Denver Symphony and the Buffalo Symphony orchestras. He is currently Solo Violist for Florida Grand Opera. He has performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl.
Tickets are $20 per person, $10 for students and may be ordered online from www.TheEmersonCenter.org or at the box office, at 772-778-5249.