Callisto Quartet
The University of Central Arkansas College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) will host celebrated string musicians, the Callisto Quartet, as artists-in-residence, Feb. 9-10.
On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the quartet will host a public talk and demonstration from 1:40 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., in the Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, followed by a public performance at 7:30 p.m., in Reynolds Performance Hall. Both are in-person events, with seats marked to observe social distancing. Attendees will be required to wear face coverings and follow all COVID-19 policies set forth by the university. Those wishing to watch remotely may view a live stream of each event on the UCA Department of Music’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFminxKyI9svxv2ioiWlpTQ.
On Wednesday, Feb. 10, the quartet will conduct virtual master classes with Conway Junior High School orchestra students.
“We are so excited to welcome the Callisto Quartet to campus for an in-person residency, something rare in the music world in the age of COVID-19,” said Gayle Seymour, associate dean of CAHSS. “Not only are we taking every precaution to create safe events for our students and the community, but also recognizing that string musicians have a kind of superpower: they can perform while wearing masks.”
Founded in 2016 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Callisto Quartet brings together four dedicated and passionate musicians — Paul Aguila, violin; Rachel Stenzel, violin; Eva Kennedy, viola; and Hannah Moses, cello — who share a love for chamber music and a desire for excellence. In only five years, the quartet has earned top prizes in nearly every major international chamber music competition and has been hailed by audiences across North America and Europe.
Praised by Third Coast Review for their “intensity and bravado,” the quartet was named grand prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2018 and the Manhattan International Music Competition Chamber Music Division in 2019. They were named second prize winners of the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition and have also taken home prizes from the Bordeaux (2019), Melbourne (2018) and Wigmore Hall (2018) competitions.
The quartet has participated and performed in many renowned chamber music festivals such as the La Jolla Music Society Summerfest, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Emilia Romagna Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, the Ravinia Festival and the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival, among others.
Currently, the Callisto Quartet serves as the graduate string quartet-in-residence at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. They also study with Günter Pichler of the Alban Berg Quartet at the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain.
For more information about the residency and public events, contact Stephen Feldman, professor of cello, at (501) 450-5754 or sfeldman@uca.edu.
