Exeter, NH (September 30, 2008)—Phillips Exeter Academy opens its annual Gilbert Concert Series with a performance by the Ying String Quartet. Known for their unique prominence in the world of classical music, the Ying Quartet features Timothy Ying and Janet Ying, violins, Phillip Ying, viola and David Ying, cello. They are scheduled to perform on Tuesday, October 7, at 7 p.m., in Phillips Church, on Tan Lane. The event is free and open to the public.

The evening’s concert will include a performance of “Musical Dim-Sum: Music of Chinese-American composers,” including selections by Chen Yi, Vivan Fung and Lei Lang. Also included in the program will be Giacomo Puccini Chrysanthemums and Claude Debussy Quartet in G Minor, op. 10.

The Ying Quartet’s reputation for “instinctive unanimity” (Philadelphia Inquirer) and “astonishing, refreshing exaltation and exhilaration” (Los Angeles Times) is matched by its unparalleled success is making creative music and other arts forms in ways that have great public appeal. Constantly exploring the boundaries of chamber music, the Ying Quartet’s imagination knows no limits. Whether they are on the stage of Carnegie Hall, in an elementary school classroom, or in a hospital wing, its goal is to expand the levels of communication through the music. 

In addition to appearing in conventional concert settings, the Quartet is known for its diverse and unusual performance projects. For several years in New York City, the Quartet presented a series known as “No Boundaries,” collaborating with actors, dancers, non-classical musicians, a magician and a Chinese noodle chef to offer a unique perspective to a variety of traditional and contemporary string quartet music.

The Ying Quartet first came to professional prominence in the early 1990s, during their years as residents of Jessup, Iowa, a farm town of 2000 people. There, the Quartet took part in a program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts Rural Residency Initiative, 1992-1994. While studying in Iowa, the Quartet performed before small and large audiences in homes, schools, churches and banks, integrating music’s creative lure into community life.

The Quartet was the 1993 winner of the Naumburg Chamber Music Award; has been Quartet-in-Residence at the Eastman School of Music since 1996 and at Harvard University since 2001. Presently, the Quartet is ensemble-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival, and has performed and taught at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. Other festival appearances include: Tanglewood, Ravinia, Caramoor, San Miguel de Allende, Kneisel Hall, Norfolk, Skaneateles, Amelia Island and Interlochen.

As quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School, the Ying Quartet teaches in the string department and leads a rigorous chamber music program. The Quartet had its training with members of the Cleveland, Tokyo, Emerson and Juilliard String Quartets, as well as with violist Eugene Lehner. The four siblings live in Rochester, NY.

For further information, please call Patrice Baker in the music department at (603) 777-3453, or visit its events calendar webpage for a complete list of upcoming events. You may also call the PEA public events line at (603) 777-4309. Directions to the Academy are available at (603) 777-4330.