The Ebony Strings Quartet, comprised of Stephanie Matthews and Naira Underwood (violins), Adiza Sanchez-Rahim (viola), and Patrice Jackson (cello), was established at The Juilliard School in 2006. The Ebony Strings Quartet strives to achieve the highest level of musicianship and is dedicated to exploring primarily new works. String quartet works have already been commissioned by composers Cristina Spinei, Dr. Samuel Zyman, Nathan Bugh, Ulysses Owens, Ricardo Romaneiro, and Tarik Ghiradella. The group has been invited to perform in several Juilliard Plays Juilliard concerts which highlight compositions written and performed by Juilliard students. Recent performances include Juilliard's "Evening of Chamber Music" concert at Alice Tully Hall, Juilliard’s 2006 ChoreoComp Plus concert at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, and a guest appearance at the Treetops Chamber Music Series in Stamford, Connecticut. The Ebony Strings has participated in the Chamber Music Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where they worked with the internationally acclaimed Chiara String Quartet. The Ebony Strings has also worked with members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Guarneri String Quartet, and Mendelssohn String Quartet. The quartet has been featured in the Houston Sun Times and has made numerous television appearances, including a performance on NBC's The Today Show. In 2007, the Ebony Strings was invited to perform for the Black Girls Rock! Awards hosted by DJ Beverly Bond in conjunction with VH1's Hip-Hop Honors at the Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater. Members of this dynamic ensemble can be cited for working with a wide array of noteworthy artists across all genres of music, including Bonnie Hampton, Fred Sherry, Itzhak Perlman, Arnold Steinhardt, Lenny Kravitz, PJ Morton, Diane Monroe, Karen Clark-Sheard, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Wynton Marsalis, Kanye West, Regina Carter, Lalah Hathaway, Kelly Price, Tony Williams, Seymour Lipkin, Kim Burrell, Donnie McClurkin, and Richard Smallwood.CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL EBONY STRINGS WEBSITE!!!
