Musical America Names Pacifica Quartet "Ensemble of the Year"

Pacifica Quartet, one of the University of Chicago's ensembles-in-residence, was named "Ensemble of the Year" this month by Musical America, a highly regarded professional performing arts organization.

In receiving the honor, the chamber music ensemble joins elite company. Other recipients of Musical America's awards this year include Yo-Yo Ma, named Musician of the Year, and Christopher Rouse, named Composer of the Year. The only previous quartets to win the award are the Tokyo and the Emerson string quartets.

Renowned for its virtuosity and support of contemporary music, the Pacifica Quartet includes violinists Simin Ganatra and Sibbi Bernhardsson, along with cellist Brandon Vamos and Masumi Per Rostad on viola.

"Pacifica Quartet is a model string quartet of the 21st century," wrote Musical America, in announcing the award. "Its open-minded approach to repertory embraces both venerable and modern masters, overlooked gems and brand-new works."

The Pacifica Quartet garnered international attention in 2002 when it performed all five of American composers Elliott Carter's quartets in a single evening. Describing the quartet's first performance of these pieces, The New York Times wrote: "That [the quartet] played more than two hours of the most difficult music ever conceived with such technical assurance and keen musicianship was impressive enough. But they did more, bringing out the music's volatile emotions, delicacy and even, in places, plucky humor."

The Quartet will finish recording the cycle for Naxos this season, and in the spring, it will premiere Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Saxophone Quintet.

Pacifica will perform twice in coming months at Mandel Hall. The quartet will perform Carter's Quartet 5 at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, and on Sunday, April 19, it will perform with renowned saxophonist Eric R"onmark.

More information and tickets are available at (773) 702-8068 or through chicagopresents.uchicago.edu.