PubliQuartet coming to Hackettstown
HACKETTSTOWN — PUBLIQuartet will be bringing their “biting force and zesty snap pizzicatos." to Centenary Stage Company on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
Named a 2013 CAG New Music/New Places Ensemble, PUBLIQuartet's creative, interactive programming brings a fresh perspective to the classical music scene. Drawing on jazz, world, and electro-acoustic influences, PUBLIQuartet pairs music from the classical repertoire with contemporary works, original compositions, and open-form improvisations that expand the stylistic norms of the string quartet.
The group performs in a diverse range of venues — from Lincoln Center and 92Y Tribeca to Rockwood Music Hall and Cornelia Street Cafe. Recent concerts have been presented by American Composers Orchestra, Bargemusic, Music of Now Marathon at Symphony Space, Hobart William Smith Colleges, and Fordham University. PUBLIQuartet has collaborated with members of ICE, composer/violist Lev 'Ljova' Zhurbin, bandoneonist JP Jofre, jazz tuba legend Bob Stewart, and jazz clarinetist and composer Don Byron. The ensemble has worked with members of the Muir, Julliard, Orion, Mendelssohn, Toyko, American, and Brentano String Quartets and with composers Joan Tower and Butch Morris. Residencies include the Julliard String Quartet Institute, Deer Valley Music Festival's "Emerging Quartets and Composers" program, Robert Mann String Quartet Institute, and the Banff Centre. The members of the quartet are graduates from Eastman School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes College of Music.
PUBLIQuartet’s original program, MIND|THE|GAP, was developed in 2011 to generate an interest in new music and keep traditional classical music relevant to modern audiences. Their compositions have been proclaimed as “remarkable” and “innovative music making without any condescension or compromise” (Feast of Music). The ensemble was featured in the Winter 2015 issue of Symphony Magazine as “Leaders of the New School” for their “audacious rearranging of beloved masterworks.”
In 2014, PUBLIQuartet’s commitment to supporting emerging composers inspired their innovative program, PUBLIQ Access. Designed to promote composers at the most formative point in their careers PUBLIQ Access presents under-represented music in the string quartet repertoire in a variety of styles; from classical, jazz, electronic, to non-notated, world, and improvised music. PQ recently recorded these works on their debut album, and every PUBLIQuartet concert highlights at least one PUBLIQ Access composition, bringing exposure of this music to the widest possible reach.
Tickets for the performance of PUBLIQuartet on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. are $20 for adults and $15 for children under 12 in advance. Ticket prices increase $5 on the day of the performance. All ticket sales are final.
For more information or to purchase tickets visit centenarystageco.org or call the CSC box office at (908) 979–0900. The box office is located in the Lackland Center; 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ and is open Monday through Friday from 1–5 p.m. The CSC box office also is open two hours prior to every performance. Centenary Stage Company can also be found on social media platforms via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.