Jupiter String Quartet with Kirsten Docter, viola

The first half of this globally inspired program, “Folk Encounters,” pairs Su Lian Tan’s evocation of traditional South Asian puppet theatre with Wynton Marsalis’ exploration of the complicated American Creole experience through the lens of a New Orleans ball. The program finishes with folk-inspired chamber music by Dvořák. Dvořák’s exuberant Viola Quintet reflects the composer’s delight in finding kinship between the folk music of America and his beloved homeland of Czechoslovakia.

Program: Folk Encounters
Su Lian Tan: Life in Wayang
Wynton Marsalis: Excerpts from String Quartet No. 1, “At the Octoroon Balls”
Antonín Dvořák: Viola Quintet In E-flat Major “American,” Op. 97 B. 180

Kirsten Docter is associate professor of viola and chamber music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. First-prize wins at the Primrose International and American String Teachers Association Viola Competitions launched her on a career that includes a 23-year tenure with the Cavani Quartet, concerts on major series and festivals, and numerous appointments as a master class clinician and teacher.

Docter’s festival appearances include performances at the Aspen Music Festival, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Kneisel Hall. Her work can be heard on the Azica, Albany, and New World labels. Docter formerly served on the chamber music and viola faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Michigan. She has been a jury member of the Primrose International Viola, Fischoff National Chamber Music, and Sphinx competitions. In the summer she serves on the viola faculty of the Perlman Music Program and Bowdoin International Music Festival.

The Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). Now enjoying their 20th year together, this tight-knit ensemble is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music.

The quartet has performed in some of the world’s finest halls, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria’s Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. Their major music festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, Music at Menlo, the Seoul Spring Festival, and many others. In addition to their performing career, they have been artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana since 2012, where they maintain private studios and direct the chamber music program.