The Concert Series at Wellesley College Presents The Cypress Quartet with Soprano Andrea Matthews March 17, 2010

The Cypress Quartet is a San Francisco-based ensemble that combines the talents of violinists Cecily Ward and Tom Stone, violist Ethan Filner, and cellist Jennifer Kloetzel. Known for innovative programming, passionate performances, and technical precision, their active performing schedule has included such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Library of Congress, and the Ravinia Festival. For more than ten years, the Cypress Quartet has commissioned a composer to respond to the call of the masterworks of chamber music repertoire. Their goal is twofold: create a link between the old and the new and inspire the imagination of the audience. To explore the relationship between literature and music, the Cypress Quartet has commissioned a new work from noted Boston composer Elena Ruehr, which will be paired on a program with Schubert’s beloved Death and the Maiden. Called upon to write a piece that responded to the inspiration of a work of literature—just as Schubert did for Death and the Maiden—Ruehr chose the best-selling novel Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Andrea Matthews, soprano and member of the performing faculty at Wellesley College, will join the Cypress Quartet for a special presentation of the songs from which Ruehr drew her inspiration while composing this new work.