Orion String Quartet Premieres New Work By David Dzubay In Free Concert 4/13

The Orion String Quartet, the resident quartet at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, will premiere a new work by Jacobs Professor and Composition Department Chair David Dzubay in a free concert on Monday, April 13, at 8 p.m. in Auer Hall.

Dzubay, also director of the IU New Music Ensemble, began work on the piece at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, N.H., and completed it while in residence at Copland House in Courtlandt Manor, N.Y., as a recipient of the Aaron Copland Award.

Dzubay said when he began work on the piece, he took a cue from the group's name and was inspired by "gazing upwards on evening strolls around the MacDowell Colony in rural New Hampshire."

"I decided to focus on the stars, composing an 'Astral' quartet, movements of which would deal with stars and space in various ways," said Dzubay. "Like our galaxy, the quartet has a spiral structure, both in the shape of an eight-pitch 'spiral motive' and in the duration of the movements. One other recurring element, first heard in the opening bars, is a group of three evenly spaced attacks, a representation of Orion's Belt, the tight grouping of three stars lined up in the Orion constellation."

In addition to Dzubay's String Quartet No.1, "Astral," the program will include Mendelssohn's String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 80 and Quartet in D Major, Op. 44 No. 1.

The Orion String Quartet is one of the most sought-after ensembles in the United States. Since its inception, the quartet has been consistently praised for its fresh perspective and individuality, offering diverse programs that juxtapose classic works of the standard quartet literature with masterworks by living composers.

Formed in 1987 and with more than 50 performances a year, the members of the Orion String Quartet -- violinists Daniel Phillips and Todd Phillips (brothers who share the first violin chair equally), violist Steven Tenenbom and cellist Timothy Eddy -- have worked closely with such legendary figures as Pablo Casals, Rudolf Serkin, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin, András Schiff, members of TASHI and the Beaux Arts Trio, as well as the Budapest, Végh, Galimir and Guarneri String Quartets. Orion also serves as quartet-in-residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and New York's Mannes College of Music.