NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2007

Contact: Contact: Mike Emery
713.743.8186 (office)
713.415.6551 (pager)
pemery@uh.edu

MUSICAL QUARTET ETHEL TO EXPLORE SOUND AND SPACE
IN FREE PERFORMANCE AT UH

Few music groups can effectively merge rock, blues, jazz and classical music, but New York string quartet ETHEL does so with precision and grace. It also has a knack for placing these sounds in unique settings to create memorable performances.

The group will bring “In the House of ETHEL,” a site-specific musical experience, to the Philip Johnson-designed Atrium of the University of Houston’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 3. This free performance presented by the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at UH is open to the public.

Part installation, part concert, “In the House of ETHEL” has been performed in a host of dramatic locations including the U.S. Library of Congress, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Each of these performances has been entirely different combining improvised and original compositions. While playing their instruments, members of ETHEL roam the performance space and audience members follow them, yielding an ongoing exploration of sound and physical space.

“We’re particularly pleased that our building will serve as the ecumenical venue for this event,” said Joseph Mashburn, dean of UH’s College of Architecture. “Lines separating the arts from one another as distinct academic disciplines will be obscured as architecture, performance and music dissolve into one experience.”

ETHEL consists of violinist Cornelius Dufallo, viola player Ralph Fallis, cellist Dorothy Lawson and violinist Mary Rowell. The group’s music has been praised by the international press, and it has been featured on National Public Radio and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”

“The artists in ETHEL are pioneers” said Karen Farber, Mitchell Center director. “Not only are they exceptional musicians, they are also willing to experiment with new ways of presenting their work. The Mitchell Center is delighted to host this fun, unique event.”

For more information on this event, visit www.mitchellcenterforarts.org or call 713-743-5548.

WHAT: “In the House of ETHEL”
WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday, March 3
WHERE: Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture – Atrium
University of Houston
Entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard
WHO: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at UH

 

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