Emerson String Quartet Visits Texas Tech for Presidential Lecture & Performance Series

Written by: Christy Hammett

Texas Tech’s 2007 Presidential Lecture & Performance Series welcomes the Emerson String Quartet to Lubbock. The concert will take place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, (Oct 9) in the Hemmle Recital Hall on the Texas Tech campus. The event is free for Texas Tech students with a student ID and tickets may be picked up at the student union building’s ticket booth. Reserved seat tickets are available to the public for $17 and may be purchased at the Student Union Buildng ticket booth or any Select-a-Seat location.

The Emerson String Quartet has won eight Grammy Awards including two for Best Classical Album, an unprecedented honor for a chamber music group; three Gramophone Magazine Awards, and performances of the complete cycles of Beethoven, Bartók and Shostakovich quartets in major concert halls throughout the world. The Quartet is comprised of Eugene Drucker, violin; Philip Setzer violin; Lawrence Dutton viola; and David Finckel, cello.

Mary Jane Hurst, faculty assistant to the president said she is excited about having the quartet visit Tech.
"The record of achievement amassed by the Emerson String Quartet places is amazing," Hurst said. "They are known and recognized around the nation and the world for their extraordinary performances and exquisite artistry. They are among the very best in the world at what they do, and that is why we invited them to be part of the Presidential Lecture and Performance Series."

The 2007-2008 season comprises more than 80 worldwide engagements, with a particular focus on Europe. The quartet's North American tours include stops in San Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Diego. The Emerson Quartet continues its residency at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. now in its 28th sold-out season, and appears in New York with pianist Gilbert Kalish for Lincoln Centers Great Performers and with pianist Yefim Bronfman at Carnegie Hall.

For more information on the event visit www.presidentialseries.ttu.edu or for more information on the quartet visit www.emersonquartet.com.

CONTACT: Mary Jane Hurst, faculty assistant to the president, Texas Tech University, (806)742-2121 or maryjane.hurst@ttu.edu.