The Ciompi Quartet

Presented by Eric Pritchard, violin.

Tickets available from the Duke University Box Office.

The second concert features violinist Eric Pritchard with guest artists Anton Miller (violin), Heather Bentley (viola), Elizabeth Anderson (cello) and Brandt Fredriksen (piano). The program includes two premiere performances of recently composed piano quintets inspired by visionary creatives and finishes with Handel’s well-known Passacaglia and Pärt’s beloved Spiegel im Spiegel.

Program: Heather Bentley For Nellie inspired by Ellen Shipman, the visionary landscape architect of the Duke Gardens; Bill Robinson Cubic Deviations, inspired by Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Handel; Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia transcribed by Halversen; Arvo Pärt Spiegel im Spiegel.

Eric Pritchard has served as first violinist of the Ciompi Quartet of Duke University since 1995. Mr. Pritchard tours worldwide as a chamber musician and he has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Boston Pops, Indianapolis Philharmonic and Orchestra New England. As a member of the Alexander String Quartet, he was awarded First Prize at the London International String Quartet Competition and premiered works by Aaron Copland and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Pritchard’s chamber and solo recordings have been released on Naxos, MSR, Albany and Toccata Classics. A graduate of Indiana University and the Juilliard School, he also is a certified teaching member of Alexander Technique International.

Violinist Anton Miller has appeared throughout the United States and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist and pedagogue. He is currently Professor of Violin at the Hartt School of Music and Co-Director of Music at the Point CounterPoint Chamber Festival in Vermont. He can be heard in concert with the Miller-Porfiris Duo, QuartetES, Con Brio Ensemble and the Phenix Ensemble. He studied at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and at Indiana University with Franco Gulli. 

Seattle-based violist and composer Heather Bentley has trailblazed a career as one of the West Coast’s most visible improvisatory musicians, specializing in creating evocative atmospheres and textures. Classically trained, she has shifted to an unabashedly experimental artistic output: As a performer, she can be seen performing on instruments like her electric seven string and five string violins or her electronic pedal board in numerous chamber ensembles that utilize improvisation, electronics, and often both. As a composer, her work for chamber ensembles and orchestras has been performed by organizations across both California and Washington. Relentless in her pursuit of creativity, she continues this work as co-founder of Kin of the Moon, a 501(c)3 organization which fosters collaboration between artists in service of creating unique art.

Cellist Elizabeth Anderson has performed in major concert venues of the world in China, Japan, Australia, Italy, Germany, Finland, Mexico and the US. As a founding member of the Naumburg Award winning Meliora Quartet, she made numerous appearances on the world’s most prestigious chamber music series and recorded the Mendelssohn Octet for Telarc with the Cleveland Quartet. She has also performed and recorded extensively with the Cassatt String Quartet, VC3 Cello Trio, and as cellist in the New York City Opera Orchestra at Lincoln Center.

Pianist Brandt Fredriksen enjoys a dynamic and versatile career as a performer, musical director and teacher. His debut recitals were held in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Gasteig Cultural Center in Munich, Germany, and Vafopoulio Cultural Center in Thessaloniki, Greece. Fredriksen has appeared in recitals as a soloist and a collaborative artist at many prestigious venues including Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Jazz, Merkin Hall, Florence Gould Hall, Gasteig Cultural Center, Megaron Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece and Beijing Concert Hall in China. In 1999, he was selected by the U.S. and China Foundation to perform recitals and concertos throughout China, a tour that included Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Shenyang.