The Musicians
“Here the chamber music skills of these musicians became absolutely clear. Together they felt and shaped the ever-changing moods and characters of the work, passing the ball among themselves and inspiring one another with their lively music making.”
Nordwest Zeitung, Germany
Ciompi Quartet
In a career that spans five continents and includes many hundreds of concerts, the Ciompi Quartet has developed a reputation for performances of real intelligence and musical sophistication, with a warm, unified sound that allows each player’s individual voice to emerge. In recent years, the Ciompi Quartet has performed across the U.S. from Washington State to California, Texas, New York, Washington DC and New England, and abroad from China and Taiwan to France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Albania. In June 2024 the Quartet performed in Vienna at a celebration of that composer’s 150th anniversary sponsored by the Arnold Schoenberg Center. The Quartet has performed at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit, North Carolina’s Eastern Music Festival and Highlands Chamber Music Festival, and at Monadnock Music in New Hampshire.
Eric Pritchard – Violin
Eric Pritchard has been serving as First Violinist of the Ciompi Quartet of Duke University since 1995. His previous appointments as First Violinist of the Alexander and Oxford String Quartets included positions at City University of New York, San Francisco State University, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and Miami University. A native of Durham, New Hampshire, he studied at the New England Conservatory, the Indiana University School of Music and the Juilliard School where he received a Master of Music in 1985. His principal teachers were Josef Gingold, Ivan Galamian, Eric Rosenblith and Giorgio Ciompi. Pritchard was awarded First Prizes at the London International String Quartet Competition and at the Coleman and Fischoff national chamber music competitions. He was also the winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs Award in violin in 1981.
Hsiao-mei Ku – Violin
Hsiao-mei Ku, a Naxos Artist, is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Music at Duke University has enjoyed a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral artist as well as an educator and a scholar. Ku made her debut in her native China at the age of seven and, three years later, entered the prestigious Central Conservatory in Beijing, then directed by composer Ma Sicong. A star pupil, she appeared on Chinese television at age eleven and was frequently featured in the conservatory’s showcase concerts. She frequently performed for China’s national leaders and foreign dignitaries at state functions and toured extensively throughout the country as a soloist. In recognition of her artistic achievements, she received the Government Award for Best Performance.
Jonathan Bagg – Viola
Jonathan Bagg is Professor of the Practice at Duke University. His career with the Ciompi Quartet includes hundreds of concerts across the U.S. and around the world, as well as dozens of recordings. He is founding Artistic Director of Electric Earth Concerts in New Hampshire, and he directed the Monadnock Music festival from 2007-2011. As an Artistic Director, his programming has included many collaborations with composers, authors, poets, and choreographers resulting in a number of unique multi-media works.
Caroline Stinson – Cello
Caroline Stinson leads a diverse musical life as a chamber musician, soloist and recitalist of repertoire old and new, and has appeared at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, the Gardner Museum, and Smithsonian; the Koelner Philharmonie, Lucerne Festival and Cité de la Musique in Europe; and the Centennial Centre in Canada. She has premiered dozens of works, including significant additions to the repertoire from William Bolcom, John Harbison, Paul Moravec, Steven Stucky, and Andrew Waggoner, many during her nine-year tenure with the Lark Quartet. She performed Esa-Pekka Salonen’s solo work YTA III at the composer’s recommendation at Scandinavia House and (le) Poisson Rouge in New York, and performed Elliott Carter’s Triple Duo on two continents with Pierre Boulez. Her solo CD, Lines – European Lineages in American Music, is on Albany Records, and she appears on close to twenty chamber music recordings on Albany, Naxos, Koch, and Bridge.