The Ciompi Quartet

The Ciompi Quartet performs at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. in a program that explores how Native American melodies and uplifting African American spirituals influenced the music of beloved Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. With its stellar cast of musicians, this ensemble entertains, educates, and inspires through a program drawn from the curiosity of a Czech composer a century ago.

The Program
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): Finale from String Quartet No. 12
R. Carlos Nakai (1946-): Butterflies Dancing
Traditional African American Spiritual: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): Allegro non tanto from String Quintet No. 3
Traditional African American Spiritual: My Lord, What a Morning
R. Carlos Nakai (1946-): Clan of the Mists
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): Allegro vivo—Un poco meno mosso from String Quintet No. 3
Traditional African American Spirituals: Go Down Moses; By and By
R. Carlos Nakai (1946-): Honoring Song
John Newton (1725–1807): Amazing Grace
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): Finale. Allegro giusto from String Quintet No. 3
Going Home

The Artists
R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo-Ute) is the world’s premier performer of the Native American flute. He has appeared as a soloist and educator worldwide, released more than 40 albums, and been nominated for several Grammy awards. He also founded the R. Carlos Nakai Quartet. A Navy veteran, Nakai earned an MA in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona, authored The Art of Native American Flute with composer James DeMars, and has received a multitude of awards and honors for his lifetime achievements.

Will Clipman began playing drums and piano at age three and has since mastered a pan-global palette of percussion instruments. A seven-time Grammy nominee and winner of several US, Canadian, and Indigenous awards, he has recorded over 70 albums, and collaborated with many internationally acclaimed artists and ensembles, most notably through his 30-year association with Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai. Clipman is a widely published, prize-winning poet, as well as an accomplished mask-maker and storyteller. In his 40-year career as an arts educator, he has given hundreds of presentations, impacting a range of communities from traditional school settings to hospitals, prisons, and parks.

Kenneth Kellogg is a Washington, DC native and alumnus of the city’s Duke Ellington School of the Performing and Visual Arts. Active in both the US and Europe, he has worked with the San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Washington National Opera, Opera de Oviedo, and Opera de Lausanne, among others. A sample of his many operatic roles includes the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as well as Leporello and Il Commendatore; Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust; and Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. Of note, Tazewell Thompson’s opera Blue was written for him. Kellogg holds degrees from University of Michigan and Ohio University.

Pamela Freund-Striplen served as artistic director and violist of San Francisco’s Gold Coast Chamber Players for 35 years. She has also performed with members of the St. Lawrence, Alexander, Escher, and Verona String Quartets, New European Strings, and Amati Ensemble; with the San Diego Symphony, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony; and as principal violist with the San Diego Opera and Western Opera Theater. Motivated by the social impact of her special projects like Cultural Crossroads: Dvořák in America, she now focuses on presenting these programs to national and international audiences. In this performance, Freund-Striplen serves as violist, curator, and narrator.