Parker Quartet's Big Boston Year
Currently Blodgett Quartet-in-Residence at Harvard University, the group is using this year in Boston in ways that benefit both Harvard and New England Conservatory.
The Grammy-winning Parker Quartet—currently Blodgett Quartet-in-Residence at Harvard University—is using this year in Boston in ways that benefit both Harvard and New England Conservatory, with multiple appearances at both schools. The quartet participated in NEC's Professional String Quartet Training Program from 2006 to 2008, and was twice selected as an Honors Ensemble during their undergraduate studies at NEC.
Among the quartet's accomplishments in between their NEC graduation and the Harvard residency, their 2010 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Recording is especially noteworthy.
At NEC, the Parkers' "homecoming" is manifested both in teaching and performance activities. On October 25, they lead an EM Expo for NEC's Entrepreurial Musicianship program. On November 2, they judge the internal competition for NEC Honors Ensembles that include strings and piano. On November 5, the quartet splits into two pairs for simultaneous masterclasses in Pierce Hall and the Keller Room. And on February 14, a Jordan Hall concert displays them in various configurations with the Weilerstein Duo (violinist Donald Weilerstein and pianist Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, of the NEC faculty).
In addition to chamber music teaching and coaching responsibilities, the Harvard residency includes saturation programming in the elite Blodgett Chamber Music Series, beginning October 16 with a program of first quartets by Mozart, Szymanowski, and Tchaikovsky. In the four programs, only two composers are heard twice, providing a broad survey of the quartet repertoire.
And despite all of these activities in Boston, the quartet is also traveling to meet high demand for their services all over the country, as evidenced by their packed calendar.
The quartet currently consists of first violinist Daniel Chong '04, '08 M.M., second violinist Ying Xue '08, '10 M.M., '11 G.D., violist Jessica Bodner '04, '08 M.M., and cellist Kee-Hyun Kim '05, '08 M.M. Karen Kim '05, '08 M.M. was second violinist of the group during their studies at NEC.