Praised for their “beautiful sound” (Beijing Global Times), the Arneis Quartet is proving to be one of the finest emerging ensembles of its generation. Playfully named after the Arneis grape—a varietal that is difficult to grow, but which yields an exquisite white wine— the Boston-based quartet has been hand-picked by the St. Lawrence String Quartet for its inaugural John Lad Prize, which includes debuts on the Stanford University Lively Arts series and Music on Main in Vancouver. Currently the 2011 Young Artist Fellows for the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Arneis has participated in the Juilliard Quartet Seminar, the Deer Valley Emerging Quartets and Composers Program, and the Banff Centre Chamber Music Residency.
While exploring the standard repertoire, the quartet is also committed to the works of contemporary composers. Arneis has received grants from Meet the Composer and has begun a Composer Encounter series featuring composers and their works with performance and discussion. Premieres in 2010-2011 included works of Erica Ball, Jason Barabba, and Donald Wheelock. The quartet performed works of Jonathan Berger and Brian Ferneyhough at the 2011 Beijing Modern Music Festival and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Arneis is currently collaborating with Emmanuel Music to develop educational outreach programs and is also the faculty ensemble-in-residence at the Dana Hall School of Music. The members of the quartet are committed to outreach and education and are on the faculties of Boston University, the Dana Hall School of Music, Brookline Public Schools, the Chestnut Hill School, and coach for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. The quartet has presented workshops and masterclasses at schools throughout the nation. Arneis has also been guest faculty of the Lyceum Music Festival in Park City, UT.
Arneis has coached with members of the Muir, St. Lawrence, Brentano, Emerson and Juilliard quartets as well as Bayla Keyes, Henk Guittart, Alasdair Tait, Roger Tapping, Joan Tower and Donald Weilerstein. Recent collaborations include performances with Ursula Holliger, Jessica Zhou and Michelle LaCourse. In the 2011-2012 season Arneis will perform with Marc Johnson, the Saint Lawrence String Quartet, Gabriel Kahane, Peter Zazofsky, Kevin Loucks, and Ariel Barnes.
photo by Eugenia Chung
