Another founding member of ETHEL, cellist Dorothy Lawson, has performed

with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the White Oak Dance Project, Philharmonia

Virtuosi, the American Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra,

and numerous new music ensembles. Canadian-born, she completed degrees at the

University ofToronto, the Vienna Academy, and the Juilliard School. She teaches at

the Mannes College at the New School in New York City.

Violinist Kip Jones is known for his ebullient and innovative solo performances

in a style he describes as “experimental folk.” A modern musical troubadour, he

has performed at scores of eclectic venues, such as Ecuador’s Ministry of Economic

Inclusion; Albania’s Liceu Artistik “Jordan Misja”; two miles inside Chom OngTai

cave in Laos; the summer homes of nomadic Mongolian herders; and the platforms

ofsubway systems in North America. As a composer, his work has been commissioned by ensembles, including the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra and A Far

Cry. A native ofMinnesota,Jones earned his degree in violin performance from the

Berklee College ofMusic.

Corin Lee is one of the most sought-after violinists of his generation. He has

appeared at great American venues, including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium,

the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center,

and EDC Las Vegas. Lee’s performances have been broadcast on Fox, CBS, and NBC

News. His “musically marvelous” (Steve Reich) electronic arrangements have set the

new standard for innovation in solo string performance. Lee received his bachelor’s

and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School and the Yale School ofMusic, respectively. In addition to concert work, he directs Liberated Performer, a program that

guides and trains musicians to defeat performance anxiety.

Admission to the National Gallery ofArt

and all of its programs is free of charge,

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording equipment during the performance is not

allowed. Please be sure that all portable 

electronic devices are turned off.

The department ofmusic produced 

these program notes. Copyright © 2018

Board ofTrustees, National Gallery of

Art, Washington

Concerts are made possible in part

through the generosity of donors to 

the National Gallery ofArt through

The Circle. Reserved seating is available

in recognition oftheir support. Please

contact the development office at

(202) 842-6450 or circle@nga.gov for

more information.

Cover Amedeo Modigliani, Gypsy

Woman with Baby (detail), 1919,

National Gallery ofArt, Washington, 

Chester Dale Collection

nga.gov/music

76TH SEASON OF CONCERTS

MARCH 4, 2018 / NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Program

ETHEL

Kip Jones, violin

Corin Lee, violin 

Ralph Farris, viola

Dorothy Lawson, cello

MARCH 4, 2018/3:30

WEST BUILDING, WEST GARDEN COURT

Blue Dressfor String Quartet

Program listed alphabetically by composer; order to be announced from the stage.

Anna Clyne (b. 1980) After Stevie Nicks

Roulette Arr. Corin Lee

The Music There

After Aretha Franklin

Arr. Kip Jones Julia Wolfe (b. 1958)

Natures Blue Dressfor String Quartet

AfterJanisJoplin

Arr. Ralph Farris

SweetJanis

Dorothy Lawson (b. 1958)

Chai

Dorothy Lawson

Grandmother

Missy Mazzoli (b. 1980)

Quartetfor Queen Mah

The Musicians

Established in New York City in 1998, ETHEL quickly earned a reputation as one of

America’s most adventurous string quartets—heir to the likes of the Kronos Quartet

and Soldier String Quartet. These musicians are part of a generation of young artists

blending uptown conservatory musicianship with downtown genre-crossing, performed

with the intensity and accoutrements of a rock band. The New York Times has described 

ETHEL’S musicians as “indefatigable and eclectic,” the New Yorker has deemed them

“vital and brilliant,” and Pitchfork has called them “infectiously visceral.” Nearly two

decades later, the quartet has, in turn, become seminal in its own right, a pathbreaker

for younger, genre-spanning ensembles and a prolific commissioner of new music.

At the heart of ETHEL is a collaborative ethos—a quest for a common creative 

expression that is forged in the celebration of community. In addition to premiering

twenty-first-century works by a broad range of groundbreaking composers, the

quartet creates and tours rich, often multimedia productions in which community

engagement is a key element. The quartet is currently touring ETHEL’S Documerica,

inspired by the tens of thousands ofimages shot as part ofthe Environmental

Protection Agency’s decade-long Project Documerica. Launched in 1971, the agency’s

initiative commissioned photographers across America to document the state of

the environment and its impact on society. ETHEL’s Documerica—directed by OBIE

Award-winner Steve Cossin, with projection design by Deborah Johnson—features

new work by the quartet, as well as music it has commissioned from other American

artists. The quartet released a Documerica album in 2015.

ETHEL also tours three other programs: The River, a collaboration with Taos 

Pueblo flutist Robert Mirabal; Blue Dress, which pays homage to women making

their musical mark on the twenty-first century; and Circus—Wandering City, which

explores the phenomenon ofthe circus through the eyes and insights ofthe people

who have created its special thrills and illusions. The program includes original music 

composed and performed live by ETHEL.

The quartet regularly performs works by all of the ensemble members, alongside

music by such luminaries as Philip Glass,Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Mary Ellen

Childs, Raz Masinai,John Zorn, and Pamela Z. Over the past five years, the quartet

premiered over 150 new works, many ofthem commissioned by the quartet. ETHEL

is the ensemble-in-residence at Denison University and the resident ensemble at the

Metropolitan Museum ofArt’s Balcony Bar.

Violist Ralph Farris, one ofETHEL’s founding members, is a Grammy-nominated

arranger, an original Broadway orchestra member of The Lion King, and the former

musical director for singer Roger Daltrey ofThe Who. He has worked with Leonard

Bernstein, Martin Scorsese, Depeche Mode, Natalie Merchant, Harry Connick Jr.,

Allen Ginsberg, Yo-Yo Ma, and Gorillaz. A graduate ofWalnut Hill School for the

Arts, Farris earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School.