Photo by Jocelyn Chuang
Nominated for three GRAMMY awards in three separate genres, the Spektral Quartet eluded easy categorization with its stylistic fluency, imaginative presentations, and collaborative zeal. Performing from 2010 to 2022, the ensemble brought technical rigor into orbit with disarming humor while fashioning a convincing triangle between the historic, the esoteric, and everyday life.
On stage, in person, and on record, Spektral prioritized meaningful connection by, as the Boston Globe once put it, being “serious about the music, not about themselves.” Transparent and spirited interactions with listeners during concerts, a willingness to unmask their process on and off the stage, and thematically inquisitive programming converged to create musical experiences for which curiosity was the only prerequisite.
As citizens of Chicago, they sought to serve the city’s divergent communities, advocate for local artists, and exemplify a prevailing DIY spirit, most notably by self-producing an annual season peppered throughout the area’s historic neighborhoods. Named “Chicagoans of the Year” by the Chicago Tribune in 2017, Spektral Quartet embodied creative versatility with productions advancing the belief that, for instance, hiking the Chicago lakeshore or learning to dance “The Hustle” can be persuasive tools in stripping pretense from classical spheres and turning skeptics into enthusiasts.
With a tour schedule which included some of the country’s most notable concert venues such as the Kennedy Center, Miller Theater, Library of Congress, and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, the ensemble gained international recognition as both performers and thought-leaders. Looking back, the four departing members agree that the experiment known as “Spektral Quartet” could only have been realized through the unusual capabilities and flair of this particular foursome, their supporters, and their fans.
***THE SPEKTRAL QUARTET HIGHLIGHT REEL***
PRESS QUOTES
The New Yorker: “The Spektral has accomplished the signal service of obliterating the dividing line between past and present, tradition and avant-garde; chronological barriers collapse, and the sounds roam free.”
New York Times: “they have everything: a supreme technical command that seems to come easily, a capacity to make complicated music clear, and, most notably...an ability to cast a magic spell”
Gramophone: “geeky, highly-interactive, creative and collaborative...unlike anything its intended audience – or anyone else – has ever heard.”
Chicago Tribune: “The Spektral Quartet likes to put on performances that are not so much concerts as high-energy thrill rides for musically inquisitive listeners.”
Chicago Classical Review: “In just a few short years, the Spektral Quartet has established itself as Chicago’s premiere string quartet.”
The Strad Magazine: “...it is sheer pleasure for listeners, especially with the Spektral players’ ear-tickling precision.”
DISTINGUISHED COLLABORATORS
Claire Chase (flutist, International Contemporary Ensemble founder, MacArthur fellow)
Theaster Gates (artist, Rebuild Foundation founder)
Julia Holter (critically-acclaimed songwriter and Domino Records recording artist)
Nathalie Joachim (composer, Flutronix co-founder, Eighth Blackbird flutist)
Tarek Yamani (Afro-Tarab pianist, composer, author, and bandleader)
Miguel Zenón (saxophonist, MacArthur and Guggenheim fellow)
PROMINENT COMMISSIONS
Over 85 composers commissioned for new work, including: Samuel Carl Adams (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra), Marcos Balter (International Contemporary Ensemble, Amazonas Filarmonica), Anthony Cheung (Ensemble Intercontemporain, New York Philharmonic), Tonia Ko (Minnesota Orchestra, WildUp), George Lewis (IRCAM, Talea Ensemble), Alex Temple (Ensemble Dal Niente, Detroit Symphony Orchestra), Hans Thomalla (Stuttgart Opera, Arditti Quartet), Augusta Read Thomas (Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony), Bernard Rands (BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra), Anna Thorvaldsdottir (New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic), and Christopher Trapani (BBC, Ensemble Modern).
NOTABLE APPEARANCES
American Academy (Rome), Miller Theater, Library of Congress, Kennedy Center, Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, The Adler Planetarium, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Reykjavik Arts Festival, Cal Performances, and Art Institute of Chicago.
NOTORIOUS PROJECTS
Mobile Miniatures: commissioning and recording of over forty composers to write ringtone-length pieces for download to mobile phones – bringing classical and experimental music into everyday life
Complete Schoenberg Cycle: contextualizing the visionary composer’s four landmark string quartets both musically, and by means of cuisine, architecture, and painting.
Morton Feldman’s String Quartet No. 2: delivering the Chicago premiere of this staggering, 6-hour-long masterpiece
The Dovetail Series: an ongoing musical dialogue between Chicago’s north and south sides in partnership with Theaster Gates’s Rebuild Foundation.
Once More, With Feeling! Series: offering concertgoers a rare second listen on the same night, revealing the subtle layers of a new piece through on-stage conversations with the composer.
Close Encounters Series: presenting exclusive, intimate, and unforgettable concert events connecting listeners with the music and its cultural moment through art, architecture, and cuisine.
ENIGMA: a multi-sensory experience featuring original work by composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir and video artist Sigurdur Gudjonsson, presented in the iconic dome theater at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium.
ESSENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS
Carnegie Hall, Washington Performing Arts, Chamber Music America, The National Endowment for the Arts, Harris Theater, Openlands, Chicago Humanities Festival
EDUCATION & LEADERSHIP
Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Chicago’s Music Department from 2012–2020
Digital Artist-in-Residence at University Musical Society (University of Michigan) for the 20/21 Season
Residencies at Stanford University, the New World Symphony, Northwestern University, University of Iowa, Western Michigan University, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, among others.
Guest speakers at the National Association of Schools of Music, Ensemble Connect, and New World Symphony.
Local residencies included a social-justice-driven songwriting project at Kenwood Academy on Chicago’s South Side, as well as a season-long neighborhood residency featuring free concerts across Spektral’s home base of Chicago’s Edgewater area.
Founders of the Chamber Music Intensive at the University of Chicago: an annual four-day chamber music workshop for collegiate and amateur musicians featuring guest artists such as Arnold Steinhardt (Guarneri Quartet), Kim Kashkashian (international viola soloist), Shmuel Ashkenasi (Vermeer Quartet), and Lucy Chapman (Marlboro Festival, New England Conservatory)
RECORDINGS
Chambers (2013) (Parlour Tapes+)
Mobile Miniatures (2014) (self-released)
From This Point Forward (2014) (Azica Records)
Serious Business (2016) (Sono Luminus) – Nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY award
Experiments in Living (2020) (New Focus Recordings)
Enigma (2021) (Sono Luminus)
Behind the Wallpaper (2023) (New Amsterdam Records)
Into the Night (2023)
Plain, Air (2023)
Spektral Quartet Also Appears On
Franck & Chausson: Fin de siècle (2015) (aparté)
Augusta Read Thomas: Of Being Is A Bird (2016) (Nimbus Records)
This Is You (2016) (Room 40)
Augusta Read Thomas: Ritual Incantations (2017) (Nimbus Records)
Anthony Cheung: Cycles & Arrows (2018) (New Focus Records)
Yo Soy La Tradición (2018) (Miel Music) – Nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY award and a 2019 Latin GRAMMY award
Fanm d’Ayiti (2019) (New Amsterdam) – Nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY award
Hans Thomalla: Bagatellen / Air / Noema (2020) (Sideband Records)
CURED: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2020)
Kotoka Suzuki: Shimmer, Tree (2022)
SPEKTRAL QUARTET is
Clara Lyon (violin) Theo Espy (violin)
Doyle Armbrust (viola) Russell Rolen (cello)