AUDUBON QUARTET

QUARTET-IN-RESIDENCE

AT SHENANDOAH CONSERVATORY

 

Shenandoah Conservatory has appointed Audubon Quartet as its first quartet-in-residence.  Quartet members will lead a new Graduate String Quartet Program at Shenandoah Conservatory, teaching, coaching and mentoring the next generation of outstanding string players and quartets.  Audubon will also serve as Shenandoah's ambassador of the performing arts with a series of concerts at the Conservatory.  Shenandoah Conservatory Dean Laurence Kaptain noted that this residency appointment signals the Conservatory's clear intention to continue regional leadership in the performing arts, while increasing its national and international presence.  A formal announcement is planned for March 4, 2007.

For more than 30 years, the award-winning Audubon Quartet has garnered critical acclaim for its performances around the world.  The Audubon Quartet formed at the 1974 session of the Lenox Quartet Chamber Music Seminar in Binghamton, NY, and quickly commanded international attention as the first American quartet to ever win a First Prize in an international competition.  Within four years the Audubon won the First Prize in three major international competitions.  In 1981 the Audubon broke more barriers with a major tour of Mainland China: the first American quartet to ever visit the Peoples' Republic of China.  Audubon's domestic roots include decades long associations with the Chautauqua Institute (NY) and Music at Gretna (PA) Festival, and annual invitations to perform and teach at leading institutions around the country.  

Audubon members: Doris Lederer (viola), Ellen Jewett (violin), Akemi Takayama (violin), and founder Clyde Shaw (cello).