SWU News:

January 14, 2008

String quartet to serenade Southern Wesleyan

As a prelude to Valentine’s Day, what could be more romantic than an evening string performance?

And this performance comes with a dash of Latin American heat.

The José White String Quartet will perform Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Southern Wesleyan University’s Folger Fine Arts Auditorium on the campus in Central. Admission is free.

Composed of four outstanding young Latin American musicians now residing in Mexico, the José White Quartet won the first and only prize in the National Competition of Chamber Music in Guanajuato, Mexico, in 2000, that country’s most prestigious musical accolade.

The musicians share a broad musical training, varied performance experience and enthusiasm and dedication to chamber music, both in the standard literature and the relatively unknown works of Latino composers.

With three of the original ensemble players having been born in Cuba (the other is Mexican-American) the members decided to pay tribute to José Lafitte White, indisputably Cuba’s greatest violinist of the 19th- and early 20th-century and the only one to have a world-class career based in Europe. White was an inspiration to countless string players of Central and South America for many generations. So in the mid-90’s the Cuarteto José White came into existence and began rehearsing and building repertoire; the quartet’s formal debut was during the 1997-98 season when it was featured in a concert at the notable Chamber Music Festival, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, and at other venues in Mexico and Canada. Its first performances elicited great success. The Quartet participated in the 2001 Orford Festival and made its first American tour in 2004 to rave reviews.

In recent seasons they’ve performed in Majorca and Canada and were featured at the International Chamber Music Festival in Aguascalientes. They were also resident quartet at the San Miguel De Allende International Chamber Music Festival. The ensemble also presented a two-year “ Mexico at the Scene” program of 40 concerts and four weeks of master classes throughout their country under the auspices of FONCA (the National Fund for the Culture and Arts). Their first CD of all-Latino music, including a piece by José White, was released on the Quindecim label.

The José White String Quartet is based in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where the members hold principal positions with the Symphony Orchestra as well as ­teaching and giving solo performances while enjoying the support which allows them to continue developing their primary interest in chamber music.

For concert details, call (864) 644-5294 or visit www.swu.edu.