Shelter Island Friends of Music welcomes Parker Quartet: Noted artists to close season

Shelter Island Friends of Music presents the Parker Quartet on Sunday, Oct. 8 in a free concert at 7 p.m. at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. The Grammy-award winning string quartet will play music by Mozart, Britten and Beethoven.

Daniel Chong and Ken Hamao on violin, Jessica Bodner, viola, and Kee-Hyan Kim on cello comprise this accomplished quartet. Founded and currently based in Boston, the Parker Quartet’s numerous honors include winning the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at France’s Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award. 

Internationally recognized for their “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” performances  (The Strad), the Parker Quartet has appeared at the world’s most illustrious venues since its founding in 2002.

To celebrate their recent 20th-anniversary season, the group introduced  The Beethoven Project. The multi-faceted initiative includes performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s string quartets; the commissioning of six composers to write encores inspired by Beethoven’s quartets; the creation of a new video library spotlighting each Beethoven quartet; and bringing Beethoven’s music to non-traditional venues around Boston, including homeless shelters and youth programs.

Among the quartet’s many acclaimed recordings, their Ligeti Quartets won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance. Their newest release features Dvořák’s Viola Quintet as well as György Kurtág’s Six Moments Musicaux and Officium breve in memoriam. The Strad declared this album as “nothing short of astonishing.”

The members of the Parker Quartet serve as Professors of the Practice and Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University’s Department of Music. Their name is inspired by the Parker House, a Boston historic landmark — home of the famous Parker House rolls and Boston crème pie — and pays homage to the great history of artists and writers who often used the Parker House as a meeting place.

This is the last concert of the SIFM’s 46th consecutive season. There is no admission fee; donations are always appreciated. A reception with the musicians follows the concert. 

Visit shelterislandfriendsofmusic.org for more information and plans for our 2024 season.