Event details

• Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008, 2 p.m.
• Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive, KU campus, Lawrence
• Cost: $12 - $24
• Age limit: All ages

The Lied Center of Kansas presents the Harlem Quartet performing works by Wynton Marsalis, Billy Strayhorn and Joaquin Turina.Dedicated to advancing diversity in classical music, the Harlem Quartet is committed to engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire. The Quartet will perform classical and jazz mixed selections by a number of racially diverse composers.The all-Black and Latino string quartet will perform Wynton Marsalis' masterful At the Octoroon Balls, a musical passage back to 19th-century New Orleans where people of one-eighth Black ancestry would congregate at their own special events. The group will also present a new arrangement of Billy Strayhorn's celebrated Take the 'A' Train, named for the directions he was given to meet his long-time collaborator Duke Ellington, as well as Joaquin Turina's passionate bullfighter's prayer, La Oración del Torero.The Quartet (Ilmar Gavilan, violin; Melissa White, violin; Juan-Miguel Hernandez, viola; Desmond Neysmith, cello) made their highly anticipated debut at Carnegie Hall in the fall of 2006. They have since played their unique and intriguing repertoire to capacity audiences across the country.Individually, each of the members of the Harlem Quartet has, at one time, won first-place in the esteemed Sphinx Competition and is now a principal faculty member of the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts.The Harlem Quartet, devoted to promoting multiplicity and representation in classical music and repertoire, is able to achieve its mandate through commitment to education, outreach and above all, superb classical performance.The Harlem Quartet's performance is one of several jazz/classical-themed presentations in the Lied Center 2008-09 season including Branford Marsalis and Alexander String Quartet, Metta Quintet, Imani Winds and Calder Quartet.Tickets are available for The Harlem Quartet being presented at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 at the Lied Center of Kansas. They are on sale at the Lied Center Ticket Office (785-864-2787 voice or 785-864-2777/TDD), the University Theatre Ticket OfficeMurphy Hall (785-864-3982), SUA OfficeKansas Union (785-864-SHOW), and online at www.lied.ku.edu. All seats are reserved. Ticket prices are: adult $24; KU, Haskell students/children (child: 0-18 years of age) $12. Other discounts may apply: please contact the ticket office for details. All orders may be made using MasterCard, VISA, American Express and Discover.