“It’s two string quartets that play very different music,” said Kate Meacham, assistant director of marketing for the Ford Center. “It will be interesting.”
The unlikely pair will use their contradictory musical styles to interpret various compositions for the 8 p.m. show. Tickets, priced at $28 for orchestra seating and $20 for balcony, are available by calling 662-915-7411, by visiting the UM Box Office in the Student Union from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays or the Ford Center Box Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, or by going to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/
David Balakrishnan, founder of Turtle Island Quartet, and Phillip Ying, violist for Ying Quartet, developed the collaboration in 2006. That year, they won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album, the first of two for the Turtle Island Quartet.
The Turtle Island is a jazz-based quartet, most famous for its combination of classical and American contemporary musical styles.
“They use inspiration from traditional music and make it their own,” Meacham said.
The Ying Quartet focuses on classical music and has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Chamber Music Performance category. They have performed in famous concert halls such as the Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall.
Meacham describes their musical style as “very traditional.”
Each quartet will perform separately during the first half of the program to demonstrate their individual styles.
After intermission, they unite with their interpretation of Darius Milhaud’s “La Creation du Monde,” followed by a performance of “Julie-O,” written by Turtle Island cellist Mark Summer.
The centerpiece of the program is Balakrishnan’s “Mara’s Garden of False Delights,” a three-movement piece integrating jazz, American vernacular, Western classical and East Indian music genres.
The concert ends with Evan Price’s “Variations on an Unoriginal Theme,” a piece that starts with traditional chamber music and closes with the style of James Brown.
For more information on the concert, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/