The Graduate String Quartet of the West Virginia University School of Music will perform a recital Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Museum Education Center, adjacent to the Creative Arts Center.
The program begins at 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Performing will be violinists Diego Gabete and A. Kori Hill, violist Courtney Grant and cellist Melanie Green. The program will feature “Quartet No. 1” by Charles Ives (1874-1954) and “Quartet No. 1 in D Major,” by Peter Tchaikovsky (1833-1897).
The Graduate String Quartet was founded in 1977 as an opportunity for graduate string students at WVU to continue studies at the Creative Arts Center with a concentration in an ideal performance situation. Over the years, it has been a highly successful organization, giving at least two full recitals per year on campus and many off campus. Its members serve in leadership roles for the undergraduate program, and they provide leadership in the WVU Symphony Orchestra.
Violinist Diego Gabete-Rodriguez is from Zaragoza, Spain. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from the Basque Country Conservatory, and another bachelor’s degree along with a master’s degree in violin performance and orchestral training from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, U.K., where he studied with Professor Pauline Scott. He also holds an artist diploma from Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music, where he studied with Professor Sergiu Schwartz. He has played in master classes for some of the most important teachers and string quartets, including Lorentz Nasturica, Josep Colom, Jacqueline Ross, Pamela Lidiard, David Dolan, Alexander Kobrin, Casals Quartet, Tak�cs Quartet, Belcea Quartet, Fine Arts Quartet, Wendy Warner, Manuel Diaz and Roberto Diaz. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in violin performance at WVU, where he serves as a graduate teaching assistant to Mikylah Myers McTeer. He performs on a violin made by Honor� Derazey, Mirecourt c. 1870.
Violinist Kori Hill is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in performance and music history at WVU, where she also studies with violin professor Mikylah McTeer. As a graduate assistant in violin, she serves as a member of the WVU Graduate String Quartet and the WVU Symphony Orchestra and also teaches violin minors. She studied with Amy Kiradjieff at Miami University where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in music performance with a minor in women’s studies in 2012. She has played in master classes for Mimi Zweig and Janet Sung. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Hill’s former teachers also include Marion Peraza, Heidi Flanders and Janse Vincent. In addition to violin, she has played viola with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Nouveau Chamber Players (2007-08) and as an assistant in summer music programs through the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music Prep Department, requiring her to coach and perform on both instruments.
Violist Courtney Grant received her Bachelor of Music degree in music performance from The Pennsylvania State University and her Master of Music degree in Music Performance from the University of Delaware. She has also studied at the Peabody Conservatory while pursuing a Graduate Performance Diploma. Currently she is a doctoral student in the WVU School of Music. Her primary teachers have included Timothy Deighton, WVU viola professor Andrea Preister Houde and Richard Field. As a chamber musician, she has been a founding member of the Graduate String Quartet at the University of Delaware and a member of Black Cat String Trio and the Riverside Quartet. She has played in master classes for many top chamber musicians including Peter Wiley, David Finckle, the Brooklyn Rider String Quartet and the Serafin String Quartet. In addition, she has also been teaching private violin and viola lessons for the past 12 years. She is also an active freelance violist.
Cellist Melanie Green is a graduate assistant at WVU, where she is earning a Master of Music degree in Music Performance and Music History. She studies with cello professor William Skidmore. She graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in music performance in 2012, where she studied with Peter Opie. She has appeared in master classes for cellists Wendy Warner, Amit Peled, Natalia Gutman and Anthony Elliott. She grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, where she began studying the cello at age 12. She performs in the WVU Symphony Orchestra, where she is currently the principal cellist. She has also had the opportunity to perform several newly composed works by WVU students in New Music Concerts and composition recitals. A believer in historically informed performance, she devotes much of her time to historical study of music and its composers and performers.
For more information about the Graduate String Quartet recital, contact the WVU College of Creative Arts at 304-293-4359.
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