Indie-Classical Quartet Brooklyn Rider Transforms 300 Years of Music History

Saturday, November 10 at 8 pm, FlynnSpace

Johnny Gandelsman, violin; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Nicholas Cords, viola; Eric Jacobsen, cello

The adventurous indie-classical quartet Brooklyn Rider combines a wildly eclectic repertoire with a “dazzling fingers-in-every-pie versatility that is one of the wonders of contemporary music,” (Los Angeles Times). Known for consistent refinement, globe-spanning stylistic range, and do-it-yourself gumption, the members of Brooklyn Rider are classically trained musicians who illuminate the music of Haydn, Debussy, and 300 years of string quartet repertoire. Veterans of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, they also draw inspiration from the exploding array of cultures and artistic energy found in their home borough of Brooklyn. Favorites of both classical and indie music critics, Huffington Post says Brooklyn Rider is “among the most fearless in the classical world today.”

Johnny Gandelsman, violin; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Nicholas Cords, viola; Eric Jacobsen, cello

The adventurous indie-classical quartet Brooklyn Rider combines a wildly eclectic repertoire with a “dazzling fingers-in-every-pie versatility that is one of the wonders of contemporary music,” (Los Angeles Times). Known for consistent refinement, globe-spanning stylistic range, and do-it-yourself gumption, the members of Brooklyn Rider are classically trained musicians who illuminate the music of Haydn, Debussy, and 300 years of string quartet repertoire. Veterans of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, they also draw inspiration from the exploding array of cultures and artistic energy found in their home borough of Brooklyn. Favorites of both classical and indie music critics, Huffington Post says Brooklyn Rider is “among the most fearless in the classical world today.”

NPR credits Brooklyn Rider with “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.”  The musicians play in venues as varied as Joe’s Pub and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Todai-ji Temple in Japan, Library of Congress, San Francisco Jazz and the South By Southwest Festival. They’ve appeared with such artists as songstresses Suzanne Vega and Christina Courtin, downtown jazz queen Jenny Scheinman, and legendary Irish fiddler Martin Hayes.  The members of Brooklyn Rider are classically trained musicians who illuminate the music of Haydn, Debussy and 300 years of string quartet repertoire. Veterans of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, they also draw inspiration from the exploding array of cultures and artistic energy found in their home borough of Brooklyn.  

Presented in association with the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival.

Download this performance’s press kit.