The Harlem Quartet

The Harlem Quartet advances diversity in classical music while engaging new audiences with varied repertoire that includes works by minority composers. Their mission to share their passion with a wider audience has taken them around the world; from a 2009 performance at The White House for President Obama and First Lady, Michelle Obama, to a highly successful tour of South Africa in 2012, and numerous venues in between. The musically versatile ensemble has performed with such distinguished artists as Itzhak Perlman, Ida Kavafian, Carter Brey, Fred Sherry, Misha Dichter, Jeremy Denk, and Paquito D’Rivera. The quartet also collaborated with jazz masters Chick Corea and Gary Burton on the album Hot House, a 2013 multi-Grammy Award winning release.

The quartet was founded in 2006 by the Sphinx Organization. The original four members were all first prize laureates of the Sphinx Competition. The Organization wanted to create a group comprised of first place laureates to achieve the overall mission of bringing classical music to inner-city school children. Its name, Harlem Quartet, was given by the Sphinx Organization. It comes from the neighborhood in New York City that holds such a rich piece of American history – The Harlem Renaissance. During the 1920s, Harlem became a beacon of hope where educated African Americans migrated looking for better opportunities in the North. Its members believes the work the quartet does, bringing classical music to schools in Harlem and around the world, is in line with this cultural renaissance Harlem represents for African-Americans. 

The Harlem Quartet's full program:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet in F Major, K. 590

Jessie Montgomery: Strum

Dizzy Gillespie (arr. Dave Glenn and Harlem Quartet): A Night in Tunisia

George Walker: Lyric for Strings

Adonis G. Matos: Fugato

William Grant Still: Lyric Quartet

Wynton Marsalis: At the Octoroon Balls

Guido López-Gavilán: Cuarteto en Guaguanco