Ethel (string quartet)
string quartet
Ethel is a New York based string quartet that was co-founded in 1998 by Ralph Farris, viola; Dorothy Lawson, cello; Todd Reynolds, violin; and Mary Rowell, violin. Unlike most string quartets, Ethel plays with amplification and integrates improvisation into its performances. The group's current membership includes violinists Kip Jones and Corin Lee.
According to The New York Times, "The quartet called itself Hazardous Materials for its earliest concerts, a name soon dropped for its negative connotations. As the players considered other names, Ms. Rowell remembered a scene from the movie Shakespeare in Love: Shakespeare racked with writer's block as he tried to complete a play called Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Ms. Rowell suggested Ethel as a name. Improbably, it stuck."
Ethel performs original music as well as works by notable contemporary composers such as Julia Wolfe, John Zorn, Don Byron, Marcelo Zarvos, Pamela Z, Phil Kline, John King and many more. The group's 2004–2005 season culminated with a 45-city U.S. and European tour with the rock musicians Joe Jackson and Todd Rundgren, which included an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
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