Harlem Quartet With CSUN's Samuel Goldberg Honors String Quartet At The Soraya, 3/14

Praised for its "panache" by The New York Times, the Harlem Quartet is "bringing a new attitude to classical music, one that is fresh, bracing and intelligent," says the Cincinnati Enquirer. That new attitude will be on display when the Harlem Quartet returns to the Soraya and Younes Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) and teams up with honor students from CSUN's Samuel Goldberg Honors String Quartet. This free concert will be performed on Wednesday, March 14 at 7:30pm in the intimate 500-seat Plaza del Sol Performance Hall situated alongside The Soraya on the CSUN campus.

"We are so thrilled with the unique collaboration between the Harlem Quartet and CSUN's Samuel Goldberg Honors String Quartet," said Anthony Cantrell, Ph.D., Director of Arts Education at The Soraya. "It is always our aim to find opportunities to allow our professional artists to work closely with aspiring CSUN artists. This collaboration goes well beyond the conventional 'one-off' Master Class by having the Harlem Quartet in residence for several days rehearsing with the Goldberg students as well as working with other select CSUN musicians. Their residency concludes with a culminating performance featuring both quartets on the stage of the Plaza del Sol performance Hall. This residency is the epitome of arts education, and the extremely affordable ticket price makes it even more an event not to miss."

Single tickets for Harlem Quartet with CSUN's Goldberg String Quartet are free. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.valleyperformingartscenter.org or call 818.677.3000. Tickets are free and a $5 Arts Access fee is applied to each reserved tickets.

About the Harlem Quartet
Harlem Quartet is comprised of violinists Ilmar Gavilan and Melissa White, violist Jaime Amador and cellist Felix Umansky. This unique ensemble advances diversity in classical music while engaging new audiences with varied repertoire that includes works by minority composers. Their mission to share their passion with a wider audience has taken them around the world; from a 2009 performance at The White House for President Obama and First Lady, Michelle Obama, to a highly successful tour of South Africa in 2012, and numerous venues in between. The musically versatile ensemble has performed with such distinguished performers as Itzhak Perlman, Ida Kavafian, Carter Brey, Fred Sherry, Misha Dicter, Jeremy Denk, and Paquito D'Rivera. Their most recent recording, Hot House, with jazz master Chick Corea and percussionist Gary Burton was a 2013 multi-Grammy Award winner.

About CSUN's Samuel Goldberg Honors String Quartet
This ensemble is named in recognition of the Samuel Goldberg Foundation for its longtime generous patronage, with special thanks to trustee Michael Levine for making the foundation's annual gift possible. Substantial support for the quartet also comes from David and Gita Kronen.

About Arts Education at The Soraya
The Arts Education program at The Soraya serves nearly 10,000 K-12 students each season through the Student Matinee Series, pre-performance workshops, Master Classes, and educator professional development in arts integration. Additionally, The Soraya has a robust CSUN campus engagement program that fosters collaborative opportunities between Soraya artists and CSUN student artists. Whether it is through Master Classes, extended residencies, performances in the Great Hall, or Leadership Series sessions, CSUN students have ample opportunities throughout the season to engage with some of the best artists in the world to enhance and augment their artistic education.

About the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)
The Soraya opened its 2017-2018 season on September 16 with a performance of AMADEUS Live (Milos Foreman's 1984 Academy Award-winning Best Picture with live orchestra) with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and members of the LA Opera Chorus. The evening honored the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Foundation in recognition of the family's recent $17 million gift that will rename VPAC as the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Performing Arts Center, known as The Soraya. The gift is one of the largest in the history of the California State University and the system's largest single gift to support the arts; gift to support the programming and operations of the award-winning Valley Performing Arts Center - which has become one of the cultural jewels of the region in the six years since it opened.

The 2017-18 Soraya season signals a new era for the premier event venue. Under the leadership of Executive Director Thor Steingraber, the renamed Younes and Soraya Nazarian Performing Arts Center expands its programming and outstanding multidisciplinary performances. The mission of The Soraya is to present a wide variety of performances that not only includes new and original work from the Los Angeles region but also work from around the world that appeal to all of LA's rich and diverse communities.

Located on the campus of California State University, Northridge, The Soraya's season offers a vibrant performance program of nearly 50 classical and popular music, dance, theater, family and international events that will serve to establish The Soraya as the intellectual and cultural heart of the San Fernando Valley, and further establish itself as one of the top arts companies in Southern California. The award-winning, 1,700-seat theatre was designed by HGA Architects and Engineers and was recently cited by the Los Angeles Times as "a growing hub for live music, dance, drama and other cultural events."