Established in NYC in 1998, the string quartet ETHEL sets the contemporary concert standard: “indefatigable and eclectic” (New York Times) and “vital and brilliant” (New Yorker). Composer/performers—Ralph Farris (viola), Kip Jones (violin), Dorothy Lawson (cello), and Corin Lee (violin)—fuse uptown panache with downtown genre mashup. The quartet has performed across the United States and worldwide, releasing 10 solo albums and guesting on 50+ others, winning a Grammy with jazz legend Kurt Elling. ETHEL champions the art and music of today, forging human connections across sound and style, and has toured with Todd Rundgren and Joe Jackson.
At the heart of ETHEL is a collaborative ethos — a quest for common creative expression, forged in listening and community. The quartet designs productions that inspire engagement, such as The Red Willow, featuring Taos Pueblo flutist Robert Mirabal, and Signature Sessions, a supercharged survey of the quartet’s 25+ years of music-making. ETHEL has premiered over 250 works, many of them commissions by the quartet, which regularly performs music by such celebrated composers as Julia Wolfe, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and Jessie Montgomery. Other collaborators include Bang on a Can All-Stars, Vijay Iyer, Stewart Copeland, and David Byrne.
ETHEL is Ensemble-in-Residence at Denison University, and Resident Ensemble at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Balcony Bar in the Great Hall.
September 26 @ 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
ETHEL at the Met
September 27 @ 7:15 pm – 8:30 pm
ETHEL at the Met
September 28 @ 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
ETHEL with Kyle Miller, electric guitar