Editor: Keith Davis Writers: Alex Dippold, Dave Maley Publisher: Office of Public Information Volume 22, No. 6   November 1, 1999

Quartet to Collaborate with Faculty Members in Free Recital The Ying Quartet, recognized throughout the United States for its commitment to quality performances and music education, will collaborate with violist Debra Moree and cellist Elizabeth Simkin, both faculty members in the School of Music, in a combination lecture/recital on Thursday, November 4. The six musicians will discuss their methods of artistic interpretation and rehearsal techniques before performing Brahms’s Sextet op. 18 in B-flat Major. This free performance will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music. The Ying Quartet, featuring siblings Timothy Ying and Janet Ying on violin, Phillip Ying on viola, and David Ying on violoncello, made their New York debut in 1991 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The group began touring professionally in 1992 and has appeared in major cities across North America as well as in Japan, Germany, England, Sweden, Austria, Estonia, and Taiwan. They won the Cleveland Quartet Competition in 1989 and the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1993. The quartet gained popular recognition for its involvement in the National Endowment for the Arts Rural Residency Initiative in Jesup, Iowa. During their two-year residency there, the Yings performed for civic clubs, schools, and churches throughout the and taught local high school students. In 1996 the members of the quartet were appointed assistant professors of chamber music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. This role provides the Yings with a unique opportunity to perform and coach student ensembles in addition to continuing their music education outreach activities throughout the greater Rochester area. Debra Moree, associate professor of viola and violin, is currently a member of the Ariadne String Quartet and serves as principal violist of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra. She has served as violist for the Memphis String Quartet, Colorado Arts Piano Quartet, Memphis Symphony, and Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. She also serves on the faculty of the Killington Music Festival and has appeared as a guest lecturer at Indiana University, Meadowmount School for Strings, and Interlochen National Arts Camp. Elizabeth Simkin, assistant professor of cello, performs in the Taliesin Trio, Ariadne String Quartet, and Ensemble X and is the principal cellist for the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. In 1996 she represented the United States as a cultural ambassador on a recital tour through Eastern Europe. She has appeared as a guest artist at the Tanglewood, Chautauqua, and Spoleto summer music festivals.