2014 has been a wonderful year for the Lark Quartet and in our last blog of the year, we wanted to reflect on the year that was before we dive into an exciting 2015.
Composing America
It started with the much anticipated release of Composing America, an album that was very important to us and to those with whom we collaborated on the project. It gave us a great opportunity to showcase the cultural melting pot of American music. It was also extremely rewarding to collaborate with percussionist Yousif Sheronick, baritone Stephen Salters and pianist Jeremy Denk, artists that we hold in the highest esteem.
As is often the case, the release was both exciting and terrifying. However, as some wonderful reviews came in, we were able to relax and enjoy the wonderful reception our hard work received. 
Laurence Vittes of Gramophone Magazine described the album as: “Impressive… Breathtaking and Brilliant…” concluding the review by saying: “The recording’s three-dimensional reality, captured at SUNY Purchase’s Performing Arts Center, sounds so magnificent that the whole musical experience actually matches the florid imagination of Andrew Waggoner’s booklet-note."
The album was featured on the New and Noteworthy section of the iTunes Store in the United States and was featured on the UK's BBC Radio 3. It is continuing to gain attention and we are delighted how much our audiences and fans have enjoyed it.
Lark About Town
Following the release of Composing America, in April and May we turned our attention to our ongoing outreach initiative Lark About Town. LAT is an innovative concert series connecting the dots between private salon evenings and free concerts for families and communities.
Partnering with Lark Quartet board member Vincent Mai and guest artist violist Toby Appel, we performed a program which included Brahms’ G Major Viola Quintet. With the funds raised from the salon, and in partnership with Urban Stages, we performed a free concert at the Brooklyn Heights Public Library. It was a great time and with some help from our wonderful audience, we performed a mini-version of Haydn's "Toy Symphony".
Learn more on Lark About Town
Southbury, Lexington and Clinton
Following a busy summer we started the fall with a wonderful mini-tour and a program of Copland, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Kernis. It was a terrific trip playing memorable concerts and meeting lots of new people. A particular highlight was the chance to chat post concert with some of the cadets at the Virginia Millitary Institute in Lexington, VA (see picture).
On the road with Yousif Sheronick
Our final performances of the year were a tour with percussionist Yousif Sheronick. We have such a great time performing with Yousif and his remarkable musicianship is made no more evident than on the Composing America release where he performed John Adams' 5 Pages from John’s Book of Alleged Dances with us. We certainly had a lot of fun and made some tremendously fulfilling music. We also ate at a few good spots while on the road... See our November blog which takes you behind the scenes of that tour.
New Board Members Welcomed
Our final act of the year was not a musical one, but an administrative one. We are delighted to welcome Jack Rosenthal and Simon Lipskar to our board. Their knowledge and expertise is a wonderful addition to our leadership and we look forward to working with them, and all of our board as we continue to grow our musical and outreach activities.
We hope that you have a lovely end to 2014. It has been a year to remember for us and we thank you for your ongoing support. We have plenty of exciting things planned for next year so keep an eye on the Lark Quartet website and we will see you in 2015!
Happy New Year!!
We hope you have a...
