Ying Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Ying Quartet is an American
string quartet
. The Ying siblings from Winnetka, Illinois
, formed the quartet in 1988 while studying at the University of Rochester
's Eastman School of Music
. The quartet began performing in the farm town of Jesup
, Iowa
, as the first artists involved in the National Endowment for the Arts
Chamber Music Rural Residencies Program. The original members of the quartet were Timothy and Janet Ying (violin
s), Phillip Ying (viola
), and David Ying (cello
). In April 2009, Timothy Ying announced his departure from the ensemble. In 2009, Frank Huang
became the first violinist of the Ying Quartet. When Huang left the quartet in 2010 to assume the position of concertmaster
of the Houston Symphony, Ayano Ninomiya was appointed first violinist of the Ying Quartet.
While the Ying Quartet was in Jesup, it won the 1993 Naumburg Chamber Music Award. In the years since, the Yings have performed in many major American cities; at numerous festivals including Tanglewood
, Aspen
and San Miguel; and in Europe, Canada
, Mexico
, Australia
, Japan
and Taiwan
. The Yings have played in diverse settings including Carnegie Hall
, the White House
, hospitals and juvenile prisons. The EMI Classics recording of works by Osvaldo Golijov
on which the Ying Quartet appeared with the St. Lawrence Quartet
was nominated for a 2003 Grammy Award
. The Quartet was nominated once again for a Grammy in 2007 in the "Best Chamber Music Performance" category for a recording of the three Tchaikovsky Quartets and the Sextet on Telarc. The Quartet won a 2005 Grammy for its collaborative recording with the Turtle Island String Quartet, entitled 4+Four, and has recorded for the Telarc
, Quartz, Elektra
and Albany
record labels.
In 1999 the Quartet introduced a commissioning
project supported by the Institute for American Music designed to produce a distinctively American string quartet repertoire. The project has introduced new quartets by Tod Machover
, Michael Torke
, Kevin Puts, Carter Pann, Roberto Carnevale
, Paquito D’Rivera, Chen Yi
, Daniel Kellogg, Augusta Read Thomas
, Marina Leonardi, Ned Rorem
, Jennifer Higdon
and Bernard Rands
. With Musical Dim Sum, the Yings have extended their repertoire while celebrating their own cultural heritage by including a selection of short works by Chinese American composers in the framework of a traditional concert.
The Ying Quartet teaches actively. It is the quartet in residence at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester and frequently teaches at the Bowdoin International Music Festival
in Brunswick, Maine
and at the Aspen Music Festival.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
. The Ying siblings from Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
, formed the quartet in 1988 while studying at the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
's Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
. The quartet began performing in the farm town of Jesup
Jesup, Iowa
Jesup is a city in Black Hawk and Buchanan Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 2,212 at the 2000 census.The Black Hawk County portion of Jesup is part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, as the first artists involved in the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Chamber Music Rural Residencies Program. The original members of the quartet were Timothy and Janet Ying (violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s), Phillip Ying (viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
), and David Ying (cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
). In April 2009, Timothy Ying announced his departure from the ensemble. In 2009, Frank Huang
Frank Huang
Frank Xin Huang is a Chinese-born American violinist and teacher. He has won several international music competitions, most notably the 2003 Naumburg Competition. Huang has concertized widely as a soloist, and his debut recording has been critically acclaimed...
became the first violinist of the Ying Quartet. When Huang left the quartet in 2010 to assume the position of concertmaster
Concertmaster
The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...
of the Houston Symphony, Ayano Ninomiya was appointed first violinist of the Ying Quartet.
While the Ying Quartet was in Jesup, it won the 1993 Naumburg Chamber Music Award. In the years since, the Yings have performed in many major American cities; at numerous festivals including Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
, Aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
and San Miguel; and in Europe, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The Yings have played in diverse settings including Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, hospitals and juvenile prisons. The EMI Classics recording of works by Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov is a Grammy award–winning composer of classical music.-Biography:Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family that had emigrated to Argentina in the 1920s from Romania and Russia.Golijov has developed a rich musical language, the result of...
on which the Ying Quartet appeared with the St. Lawrence Quartet
St. Lawrence Quartet
The St. Lawrence Quartet is a Canadian string quartet, and one of Canada's premiere chamber ensembles. It was founded in 1989 and has served residencies at the Juilliard School, Yale University, the University of Toronto, the Hartt School, and Stanford University...
was nominated for a 2003 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. The Quartet was nominated once again for a Grammy in 2007 in the "Best Chamber Music Performance" category for a recording of the three Tchaikovsky Quartets and the Sextet on Telarc. The Quartet won a 2005 Grammy for its collaborative recording with the Turtle Island String Quartet, entitled 4+Four, and has recorded for the Telarc
Telarc International Corporation
Telarc International Corporation is an independent record label, based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods...
, Quartz, Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
and Albany
Albany Records
Albany Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987, and is based in Albany, New York.-External links:**...
record labels.
In 1999 the Quartet introduced a commissioning
Commission (art)
In art, a commission is the hiring and payment for the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another.In classical music, ensembles often commission pieces from composers, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or donors.- Commissions for public art...
project supported by the Institute for American Music designed to produce a distinctively American string quartet repertoire. The project has introduced new quartets by Tod Machover
Tod Machover
Tod Machover , is a composer and an innovator in the application of technology in music. He is the son of Wilma Machover, a pianist and Carl Machover, a computer scientist....
, Michael Torke
Michael Torke
Michael Torke is an American composer who writes music influenced by jazz and minimalism. Sometimes described as a post-minimalist, his most postminimal piece is Four Proverbs, in which the syllable for each pitch is fixed and variations in the melody produce streams of nonsense words. Other works...
, Kevin Puts, Carter Pann, Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale is an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.- Biography and career :Born in Catania, he started studying piano at the age of seven. He took a degree in Arts at the University of Catania and he attended the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena...
, Paquito D’Rivera, Chen Yi
Chen Yi (composer)
Chen Yi is a Chinese composer of contemporary classical music. She was the first Chinese woman to receive a Master of Arts in music composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She is also a violinist....
, Daniel Kellogg, Augusta Read Thomas
Augusta Read Thomas
Augusta Read Thomas is an American composer.Augusta Read Thomas was born in Glen Cove, New York. She attended The Green Vale School and later moved on to St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and then studied composition with Jacob Druckman at Yale University and at the Royal Academy of...
, Marina Leonardi, Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer and diarist. He is best known and most praised for his song settings.-Life:...
, Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Higdon
Jennifer Higdon is an American composer of classical music. Higdon has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto and the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Percussion Concerto.-Biography:Higdon was born in Brooklyn,...
and Bernard Rands
Bernard Rands
Bernard Rands is a composer of contemporary classical music.Rands studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez and Bruno Maderna in Darmstadt, Germany, and with Luigi Dallapiccola and Luciano Berio in Milan, Italy.He held residencies...
. With Musical Dim Sum, the Yings have extended their repertoire while celebrating their own cultural heritage by including a selection of short works by Chinese American composers in the framework of a traditional concert.
The Ying Quartet teaches actively. It is the quartet in residence at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester and frequently teaches at the Bowdoin International Music Festival
Bowdoin International Music Festival
The Bowdoin International Music Festival is an annual summer music school and concert series that takes place in Brunswick, Maine. Founded in 1964 by Robert Beckwith and Lewis Kaplan as a program of Bowdoin College, it has operated as an independent nonprofit organization since 1997...
in Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick, Maine
Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
and at the Aspen Music Festival.