Friction Quartet will perform two iconic works for string quartet—Haydn Op. 76 No. 6 and Prokofiev String Quartet No. 2.

The Haydn is not often performed but is among his best quartets; it features his adventurous exploration of harmonic shifts, sublime melodies and a thrilling finale. The Prokofiev has it all: quirky fun, grandiose fanfares, devastating laments and an exhilarating romp to close it out.

The concert is from 1:00–2:00 PM. Coffee and snacks will be served in the lobby after the concert.

Musicians:
Otis Harriel, violin
Kevin Rogers, violin
Mitso Floor, viola
Doug Machiz, cello

Since forming in 2011, Friction Quartet has commissioned 47 works for string quartet and given world premiere performances of more than 100 works. While Friction has garnered international attention as commissioners and interpreters of new music, they are also devoted to performing masterworks of the string quartet repertoire at the highest level. They won second prize in the 2016 Schoenfeld Competition, were quarter finalists in the 2015 Fischoff Competition and placed second at the 2015 Frances Walton Competition. Friction has held residencies at the New Music for Strings Festival in Denmark, Interlochen Arts Camp, Lunenburg Academy of Music in Nova Scotia, Napa Valley Performing Arts Center, Old First Concerts and San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music. They were the first ensemble in residence at the Center for New Music. Friction appears on recordings with National Sawdust Tracks, Innova Records, Albany Records, Pinna Records and many independent releases. They released their full-length debut album, resolve, in 2018 through Bandcamp. Friction has appeared on radio stations such as NPR, KALW, KING-FM and KUT, among others.

Friction Quartet is dedicated to building new audiences for contemporary music through interactive musical enrichment programs. They participated for three consecutive years in the San Francisco Symphony's Adventures in Music program, visiting over 60 public schools annually. They are Ensemble Partners with Young Composers & Improvisors Workshop, workshopping and premiering new works written by young composers in the Bay Area. They have also given presentations at Oakland public schools through KDFC's Playground Pop Up program. In collaboration with Meridian Hill Pictures, they created a short documentary, titled Friction, that profiles their early educational outreach in Washington DC's Mundo Verde Public Charter School. Their presentations regularly utilize Doug's adventurous arrangements of pop songs alongside excerpts from standard string quartet repertoire to help young audiences build connections to musical concepts. 

Friction's video of the second movement of First Quartet by John Adams was named the #2 video of the year in 2015 by Second Inversion. John Adams shared this video on his own homepage and called it "spectacular." Their video for Andy Akiho's In/ Exchange, featuring Friction and Akiho, was also chosen by Second Inversion for their Top 5 videos of 2016. The video was also featured on American Public Media's Performance Today.

Friction Quartet takes risks to enlarge the audience's understanding of what a string quartet can be using arrangements of pop music, digital processing, percussion, amplification, movement and additional media. Their multimedia and interdisciplinary projects have received critical acclaim. In 2017 they produced Spaced Out, an evening-length suite of music about the cosmos that utilizes surround sound electronics and includes a Friction Commission written by Jon Kulpa. The San Francisco Classical Voice called it "accessible, yet surreal." No matter where their musical exploration takes them, they never lose sight of the string quartet's essence—the timeless and endlessly nuanced interaction of four analog voices. To learn more visit About: Friction Quartet.

Early Bird Tickets are $15 until May 11. General Admission is $25 after this date.

No refunds once tickets are purchased.

Senior Programs are made possible in part by generous contributions from the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund, the John R. Schwabacher Family, Diane & Jon Claerbout, as well as many other individual donors. We are grateful for their generous support.​