Members of the classical-musical quartet Kronos will perform at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center as a part of the Kaua‘i Concert Association concert series. The show starts at 7 p.m. Sunday. The group was founded more than 30
Members of the classical-musical quartet Kronos will perform at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center as a part of the Kaua‘i Concert Association concert series. The show starts at 7 p.m. Sunday.
The group was founded more than 30 years ago by violinists David Harrington and John Sherba, with Jeffrey Zeigler on viola.
Over time, the group members have celebrated classical music with more than 40 recordings, 10 Grammy nominations, and one Grammy win, for Best Chamber Music Performance in 2003.
They were also the recipients of last year’s National Recording Arts & Sciences Recording Academy President’s Merit Award.
They were named Musicians of the Year by Musical America in 2003.
Harrington was inspired to form Kronos after hearing George Crumb’s “Black Angels,” a Vietnam War-inspired work featuring bowed water glasses, spoken-word passages and electronic effects.
Kronos went on to start to build an eclectic repertoire, including works from 20th-century composers Bartok and Shostakovich, contemporaries Sofia Gubaidulina and Alfred Schnittke, jazz legends Charles Mingus and Thelonius Monk, and rock star Jimi Hendrix.
The name “Kronos” is taken from the Greek word “khronos,” meaning “time,” and it seems as though time has had no effect on them.
They tour across the globe five months out of the year, and still find time for their families, recording more music, and sponsoring the Kronos: Under 30 Project, a commissioning, composer-in-residence program supporting young artists.
The project also helps the quartet to cultivate strong connections with young composers in order to develop lasting relationships with the next generation of musicians.
Those not familiar with the quartet may have heard their music without even knowing it.
They have collaborated with composer Philip Glass (known for his musical scores for films such as “The Hours” and “Secret Window”), and have had their music featured in the films “Requiem for a Dream,” “Heat,” and “21 Grams.”
Their latest recordings include last year’s release of “You’ve Stolen My Heart – Songs from R.D. Burman’s Bolly Wood,” and “Mugam Sayagi: Music of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh.”
This is the last stop of their Hawai‘i tour.
Tickets are available at the Borders Books, Music, Movies & Cafe in Lihu‘e; Bounty Music in Kapa‘a; Kahn Galleries in Hanalei and Koloa; and Kalaheo Coffee Company.
For more information, call 245-SING (245-7464), or visit www.kauai-concert.org.
