America’s premier postclassical string quartet, ETHEL invigorates contemporary concert music with refreshing exuberance, fierce intensity, imaginative programming and exceptional artistry. Formed in 1998, New York’s ebullient ETHEL is comprised of Juilliard-trained performers Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Ralph Farris (viola), Dorothy Lawson (cello) and Mary Rowell (violin).
ETHEL performs adventurous music of the past four decades, with emphasis on works composed since 1995. Their repertoire includes self-composed works as well as pieces by such luminaries as Julia Wolfe, Phil Kline, John Zorn, Steve Reich, John King, JacobTV, David Lang, Scott Johnson, Don Byron, Marcelo Zarvos, Evan Ziporyn, and Mary Ellen Childs. ETHEL tours the world, appearing on stages as varied as Venice Biennale, Sydney Opera House, Ravinia, TED, Lincoln Center, Holland’s TRO MP Festival, Kennedy Center, FIAC in Guanajuato, Mexico, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
ETHEL has released several albums since its debut. The first, ETHEL, was named one of Billboard’s “Best Albums” for that year. The group’s next recording, Light (Cantaloupe Music, 2006), was #3 on Amazon.com’s “Best of 2006: Top Classical Editor’s Picks.” ETHEL’s most recent release, OSHTALI, marks the first recording of American Indian student works. The group has appeared as a guest artist on a dozen music labels. It was recently featured with vocal group Lionheart on John the Revelator: A Mass for Six Voices by Phil Kline, and the Grammy® Award-winning Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman.
