Featured Performers

• Formosa Quartet

Program

• Shelley WASHINGTON: SAY
  

• Formosa Quartet: Blueish Groove set (works to be announced from the stage)

• Wynton MARSALIS: String Quartet No. 1 “At the Octoroon Balls”

Jazz, blues, and classical traditions meet in a vibrant program that celebrates rhythm, storytelling, and cultural legacy. Winners of the First Prize and Amadeus Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the Formosa Quartet traces the journey of American music through the voices that shaped it, from the spiritual pulse of the blues to the brilliance of modern chamber music. 

The program opens with Shelley Washington’s SAY (2016), a bold, rhythm-driven work that challenges the string quartet to “speak” through extended techniques and percussive energy.

A groove-inspired set from the Formosa Quartet follows, weaving together a kaleidoscope of American musical influences. Highlights include Dvořák’s beloved String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 “American,” written during his time in the United States and deeply inspired by the spirituals and folk songs he encountered here, along with works by pioneering jazz composer Jelly Roll Morton, Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters, swing-era brilliance from Benny Goodman, and the unmistakable sound of Louis Armstrong.

The evening culminates with Wynton Marsalis’ dynamic String Quartet No. 1 “At the Octoroon Balls,” which blends classical form with the spirit of ragtime, dance, and early jazz. It’s a joyous finale that brings the program’s musical threads together in a celebration of American creativity.