Cooperstown Summer Music Festival Opens 25th Anniversary Season With Ying Quartet Next Month

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival will open its 25th anniversary season with a performance by the highly acclaimed Ying Quartet on Sunday, May 7 at 4pm at Christ Episcopal Church.

The quartet will present a program entitled 'American Made', opening with Barber's Quartet in B minor -- from which his famously moving Adagio movement is drawn -- and continuing with works by Jennifer Higdon and Billy Childs that draw on American roots and bebop music traditions. The program concludes with Quartet No. 13 in G major by Dvorak, a European composer who helped define the American musical voice.

A concert designed to showcase the richness and variety of the American string quartet tradition is appropriate for the Yings, who, in addition to being the quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music, have long been enthusiastic champions of American music.

The quartet aims to transmit some of their enthusiasm to their Cooperstown audience. "The tradition of American string quartet writing is full of magnificent music," says cellist David Ying. "We have all of these wonderful composers to thank for contributing to the vibrant American music scene that we enjoy today."

Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students and children. Tickets for all events must be purchased in advance either online from www.cooperstownmusicfest.org or over the phone by calling Purplepass Tickets at 800-316-8559 and selecting Option 1. Please note there is a $2 service fee per phone order.