Scrapyard Exotica Del Sol String Quartet

• Mason Bates (1977): Bagatelles for String Quartet and Electronica
• 1I. Rough Math05:10
• 2II. Scrapyard Exotica04:18
• 3III. On a Wire. Mating Dance04:18
• 4IV. Viscera04:25
• Ken Ueno (1970)
• 5Peradam20:52
• Mohammed Fairouz (1985): The Named Angels
• 6I. Mikail's Thunder05:32
• 7II. Azrael Malak al-Maut09:49
• 8III. Jibreel at HIRA04:44
• 9IV. Israfel's Spell06:57
• Total Runtime01:06:05

Info for Scrapyard Exotica

Scrapyard Exotica is Del Sol String Quartet's third full studio album from Sono Luminus. The triumvirate of composers featured on this album represent leading voices in very different flavors of music within the classical avant-garde. Diverse influences run the gamut from club beats to throat singing to Middle Eastern dance rhythms, from the melodic beauty of Schubert to swinging jazzy grooves to the world of science fiction. Yet each voice is firmly rooted in the here and now, sharing their experiences of life in the 21st century. Live audiences have been equally stunned by the power of each piece and we are thrilled to bring these recordings to those who haven't yet heard them in the concert hall. The album begins with Mason Bates four exciting Bagatelles for String Quartet and Electronica, which was made in collaboration with Del Sol by playing with new sounds in the studio. Mason the alchemist took our experiments in the studio and morphed them into the electronica track that you hear in Bagatelles, says violist Charlton Lee. Second on the album is the thrilling Peradam by Ken Ueno, which utilizes throat singing; as Lee puts it, Learning this piece became an incredible physical journey for the quartet, in addition to a sound world odyssey. Last is Mohammed Fairouz's beautifully meditative piece in four movements: The Named Angels, which refers to those angels that are named and recognized in the Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions: Michael, Israfel, Gabriel and Azrael.

Hailed by Gramophone as masters of all musical things they survey, The San Francisco based Del Sol String Quartet, two-time winner of the top Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, commissions and performs outstanding new works from around the world and provides innovative educational programs. Founded at Banff Centre for the Arts in 1992, the ensemble enjoys a unique vantage point. From its West Coast perch, Del Sol's performances explore narratives and cultures that represent the depth and range of human experience around the world, reflecting the stories and sounds of the Pacific Rim as vibrantly as those heard in European concert halls or East Coast art spaces. They have released seven prior CDs since 2002, including their first Sono Luminus release ZIA (DSL-92164) and the widely acclaimed Sculthorpe: The Complete String Quartets with Didjeridu (DSL-92181) in which they collaborated with Stephen Kent. The group also collaborates with other artists in multi-media, dance, video and opera productions. Del Sol has commissioned and premiered pieces by composers such as Mason Bates, Kui Dong, Mohammed Fairouz, Gabriela Lena Frank, Tania León, Keeril Makan, Hyo-shin Na, Ronald Bruce Smith, Chinary Ung and Reza Vali, among many others.

Del Sol String Quartet

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 Scrapyard Exotica