MAPLEWOOD, NJ — On Oct. 14, the Harlem String Quartet visited Columbia High School via an artist-in-residence program curated by the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University.
The Harlem String Quartet is the Cali School’s new quartet-in-residence, introducing composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery and inaugurating a new weekly residency program that will include such luminaries as Wynton Marsalis and the Kronos Quartet.
The quartet has an impressive tour history, including a performance at the White House for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama in 2009 and a tour of South Africa in 2012. The musically versatile ensemble has performed with such distinguished artists as Itzhak Perlman, Ida Kavafian, Carter Brey, Fred Sherry, Misha Dichter, Jeremy Denk and Paquito D’Rivera. The quartet also collaborated with jazz masters Chick Corea and Gary Burton on the album “Hot House,” a 2013 release that won multiple Grammy Awards.
Founding Harlem String Quartet members Ilmar Gavilan and Melissa White, both on violin, were joined by Jaime Amador on viola and Felix Umansky on cello. Although group members once shared a headquarters in Harlem, they hail from all over the hemisphere: Gavilan from Cuba, White from Michigan, Amador from Puerto Rico and Umansky from Indiana.
The Harlem String Quartet provided a masterclass for Columbia High School’s Virtuosi ensemble, coaching students in musicality and artistic interpretation of their high level repertoire.
Photos Courtesy of James A. Manno
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