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ETHEL string quartet opens GC Music Festival Friday
Performances by cutting edge ensemble at Shrine of Ages at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

From left: Ralph Farris, Tema Watstein, Kip Jones and Dorothy Lawson of the ETHEL string quartet. The ensemble performs Friday and Saturday at the Shrine of the Ages at Grand Canyon as part of the Grand Canyon Music Festival, now in its 29th season. Photo/James Ewing.

From left: Ralph Farris, Tema Watstein, Kip Jones and Dorothy Lawson of the ETHEL string quartet. The ensemble performs Friday and Saturday at the Shrine of the Ages at Grand Canyon as part of the Grand Canyon Music Festival, now in its 29th season. Photo/James Ewing.

GRAND CANYON - The Grand Canyon Music Festival kicks off its 29th season this weekend with Friday and Saturday concerts at the Shrine of the Ages, South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park. The festival also presents the 12th season of its Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP), with music education programs at Navajo and Hopi Reservation schools, and the fifth season of School of Rock for students at Grand Canyon Unified Schools.

Expect the unexpected when the high-octane chamber group ETHEL takes the stage to perform some of their favorite hits at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night. ETHEL, America's premier postclassical string quartet, will be performing at the Shrine of the Ages opening weekend. With their unique and innovative sound, these extraordinarily skilled and passionate musicians will also be featured alongside other artists the second weekend of the music festival, as well as assisting with NACAP and the School of Rock.

Founded in 1983 by Clare Hoffman and Robert Bonfiglio, the Grand Canyon Music Festival brings world-renowned artists to Arizona for performances, outreach, and education programs in rural and underserved Arizona communities, at affordable admission prices. The annual three-week series of concerts held at the Shrine of the Ages, South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, emphasizes the broad diversity of chamber music in celebration of the environment of this majestic World Heritage Site.

Formed in 1998, New York's ebullient ETHEL is made up of founding members Ralph Farris on viola and Dorothy Lawson on cello, as well as violinists Kip Jones and Tema Wastein. Jones and Wastein just recently joined ETHEL due to original violinists Cornelius Dufallo and Jennifer Choi stepping down.

"When ETHEL was formed and we started listening to them and hearing the things they were doing it was just a natural fit that they would come to the Grand Canyon Music Festival," said Hoffman. "It was just finding a time when it all worked out for their schedule and our schedule."

According to Hoffman, ETHEL first performed at the Grand Canyon Music Festival in 2005 and has returned each year since. Hoffman knew two of the founding members of ETHEL for several years before they joined the festival from the music scene in New York.

"They're not just great musicians who are really involved with our concert series, but they're also incredibly generous with their time and working with us with our Native American Composer Apprentice Project, which was started in 2001 and then they came on board in 2005," Hoffman said.

Hoffman talked about how ETHEL likes to refer to themselves as a string band and not necessarily just a string quartet. Their sound can at times be very similar to a string quartet, but so different and original too, unlike any other string quartet. They often play electric and amplify their acoustic instruments, but this year they intend to lean much more heavily on solely playing acoustic.

"The Shrine of the Ages is a very intimate setting and I really like being able to hear the sound of the instruments," Hoffman said. "And sometimes when you amplify an instrument you don't hear the sound of the instruments as much, especially in an intimate setting like the Shrine of the Ages."

ETHEL will play a mixture of famous songs as well as a plethora of their original compositions. They usually don't play music older than 15 years, but this year they wanted to break from that tradition and have their cellist Lawson play some solo Bach. The assortment of music from their repertoire will be even wider than usual this year at the festival.

Hoffman said violinist Jones will also be singing during parts of this year's concerts which is also out of the ordinary for most string quartets. Music lovers of all ages will be able to enjoy the fascinating sights and wonderful sounds echoing from the over 200-seat venue at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon Music Festival, winner of the President's Council on the Arts and the Humanities Arts and Youth Program, Governor's Arts Award, and two-time winner of the ASCAP-Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, has been recognized as an innovator in programming and education outreach, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Western State Arts Federation (WESTAF), the Flinn Foundation, Chamber Music America, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, ASCAP Foundation, APS, and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

The Grand Canyon Music Festival attracts artists of international acclaim, including Pulitzer Prize winning composers like John Corigliano, William Bolcom, and Paul Moravec. Festival performances are heard nationwide on National Public Radio's (NPR) "Performance Today" and statewide on KNAU, Flagstaff, and KBAQ, Phoenix. The Grand Canyon Music Festival has been featured on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."

Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children (age 6 and up) and students. Season tickets to all seven concerts are $90. For more information call (800) 997-8285 or (928) 638-9215. For complete schedule information and tickets visit www.grandcanyonmusicfest.org. For additional information on ETHEL visit www.ethelcentral.com.


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