Zia: Del Sol String Quartet Del Sol String Quartet

• Gabriela Lena Frank (b.1972): Leyendas, An Andean Walkabout
• 1I. Toyos01:35
• 2II. Tarqueada02:55
• 3III. Himno de Zamponas03:09
• 4IV. Chasqui03:16
• 5V. Canto de Velorio07:08
• 6VI. Coqueteos03:09
• Lou Harrison (1917-2003): String Quartet Set
• 7I. Variations05:06
• 8II. Plaint04:03
• 9III. Estampie04:09
• 10IV. Rondeaux07:47
• 11V. Usul04:24
• Jose Evangelista (b.1943): Spanish Garland
• 12Spanish Garland10:29
• Reza Vali (b.1952): Calligraphy No. 6
• 13Calligraphy No. 612:03
• Elena Kats-Chernin (b.1957): Fast Blue Village 2
• 14Fast Blue Village 205:16
• Total Runtime01:14:29

Info for Zia: Del Sol String Quartet

The Zia Indians’ symbol for the sacred sun captures the adventurous spirit and global pulse of this album from Sono Luminus and the award winning Del Sol String Quartet. The composers represented—Gabriela Frank, Lou Harrison, José Evangelista, Reza Vali and Elena Kats-Chernin—all trained in the Western European tradition, reach back to ancient and traditional folk music sources and cultures from Peru, Turkey, Spain, Iran, and Uzbekistan in creating vibrant new music for string quartet.

While the five contemporary composers on this album are deeply tied to the Western European music tradition--especially its system of notation--they draw on ancient and traditional folk music from four corners of the world and make it new by incorporating techniques such as inventive intonations or heterophony.

The eldest of these, Lou Harrison (1917-2003), was encouraged to view the world’s vast array of traditional music influences by his teacher, Henry Cowell (1894-1965).

Cowell went beyond his predecessors (Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, Bartok, and others) by proselytizing for in-depth studies of music in Asia, Africa, Central and South America and what we call the “Middle East,” rather than just a few selected European ethnicities. In retrospect, his lifelong work created a more welcoming environment for those who emerged after his death, including José Evangelista, b. 1943, Reza Vali, b. 1952, Elena Kats-Chernin, b. 1957, and Gabriela Lena Frank, b. 1972.

Del Sol String Quartet:
Kate Stenberg, violin
Rick Shinozaki, violin
Charlton Lee, viola
Kathryn Bates Williams, cello

Del Sol String Quartet
The San Francisco based Del Sol String Quartet, two-time winner of the top Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, is breaking the boundaries of classical music in riveting performances of new music with a global pulse.

Kate Stenberg
first violinist with the Del Sol String Quartet, was a founding member of the Bay Area contemporary music groups Left Coast and The Real Vocal String Quartet. She has performed as a soloist in the U.S., Europe, Mexico, Canada and South Korea, as well as with cellists Bonnie Hampton, Joan Jeanrenaud and Jean-Michel Fonteneau, and pianists Eva-Maria Zimmermann, Lisa Moore and Sarah Cahill, and she also plays on occasion in the San Francisco Symphony. Stenberg’s solo playing has been described as "highly virtuosic and deeply communicative…” In addition to her recordings with the Del Sol String Quartet, she has recorded with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Stratos, and her CD of contemporary repertoire, “Scenes from a Séance” (with pianist Eva-Maria Zimmerman) was released by Other Minds in 2012. Stenberg graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and received her Master’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Rick Shinozaki
violinist, is principal second violin of Symphony Silicon Valley and concertmaster of the Nova Vista Symphony. Solo appearances include the world premiere of Viennese composer Zdzislaw Wysocki's Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra under Kent Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony. Rick has collaborated closely with Bay Area composers Mark Fish and Durwynne Hsieh, commissioning, performing and editing their work, most notably premiering Hsieh's Concerto for Marimba, Violin and Orchestra with the Marin Symphony. With pianist Irene Jacobson, the Shinozaki-Jacobson Duo has delighted audiences with an eclectic repertoire and interpretations cited as "scintillating" and "in perfect harmony," resulting in the release of their first recording for the Latin American Chamber Music Society. Rick is a protégé of Serban Rusu of Tiburon; he also studied extensively with legendary pedagogue Josef Gingold and Yuval Yaron at Indiana University, from which he holds a Master of Music degree.

Charlton Lee
violist, has performed throughout North America and Europe both as a chamber musician and soloist. He founded the award-winning Del Sol String Quartet, which specializes in contemporary music and mixed-media productions, in 1992 at the renowned Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. He is sought after as an educator, chamber music coach, and jurist, with teaching experience at San Francisco State University, San Francisco School of the Arts, Steamboat Springs and Oaxaca music festivals, and he coaches regularly for Chamber Musicians of Northern California and the Symphony of the Redwoods. Charlton also teams up with his wife, Eva-Maria Zimmermann, to perform duo pieces for viola and piano. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Physics from the University of California at Berkeley and his Master’s degree in Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Kathryn Bates Williams
cellist, hailed by the New York Times as "a cellist with a beautifully rounded sound," has a passionate commitment to her art form by embracing tradition while exploring innovation in all genres of performance. She has served as the cellist of the New Fromm Players at the Tanglewood Music Center, where her performances have been called "the revelation of the concert" and "electrifying" (Boston Globe). After working with various new music ensembles, including the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and Ensemble Parallèle, Kathryn co-founded the New Spectrum Ensemble to bridge the gap between contemporary and standard repertoire and break down the barrier between audience and performer. A native of historic Concord, Massachusetts, Kathryn received her B.M. degree from Rice University Shepherd School of Music, under the direction of Norman Fischer, and Master's degree in Chamber Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Mark Kosower and Jean-Michel Fonteneau.

Booklet for Zia: Del Sol String Quartet