Presented by HVMS

Hidden Valley is proud to announce this free concert
of a new work performed by the Friction Quartet.

Come share with us this workshop presentation
as the brilliant Friction Quartet prepares for its premiere.

Monday
November 21
7:30 pm
Free Admission

Friction Quartet and acclaimed pianist, Jenny Q. Chai, will be performing a new Piano Quintet written for them by "mold-breaking" composer Andy Akiho. His exciting new work utilizes prepared piano and percussive techniques to create unconventional sounds. This commission was made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Music Commissioning Program, with the generous funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund. The group will also be performing Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat major. This quintet was written for and dedicated to his wife Clara and has been widely applauded as one of his most accomplished and inventive works.

Friction Quartet exists to expand the string quartet repertoire and audience for adventurous contemporary music through commissioning composers and performing in underserved schools and communities. They recently gave their Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Kronos Quartet Workshop.

While Friction has garnered international attention as commissioners and interpreters of new music, they are also devoted to performing masterworks of the string quartet repertoire. They have won numerous competitions including the Second Prize of the 2016 Schoenfeld International String Competition.

Pianist
Jenny Q. Chai is widely renowned for her ability to illuminate musical connections throughout the centuries. She received the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust's 2011 Pianist/Composer Commissioning Project, the DAAD Arts and Performance award in 2010, and first prize winner of the Keys to the Future Contemporary Solo Piano Festival.

Composer
Andy Akiho is an eclectic composer and performer of contemporary classical music. He has been recognized with awards including the 2014-15 Luciano Berio Rome Prize, the 2015 Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund, a 2014 Fromm Foundation Commission from Harvard University, and the 2014 American Composers Orchestra Underwood Emerging Composers Commission.