BAE String Quartet Presents: New Norm – A Celebration of Women Composers with a Premiere by Elizabeth Gartman
March 30 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
FREE
Join Bronx Arts Ensemble at the University of Mount Saint Vincent for a dynamic afternoon of string quartet music celebrating the powerful voices of women composers. In honor of Women’s History Month, this program features works by both trailblazing and contemporary artists, culminating in the world premiere of a new commission by Elizabeth Gartman. Including music by Florence Price, inti figgis-vizueta, Caroline Shaw, and Kamala Sankaram, this concert offers a rich tapestry of styles—from lyrical and evocative to bold and experimental.
Concert will be held at Founders Hall
PROGRAM
Florence Price – String Quartet in G Major – Allegro 7’
inti figgis-vizueta – branching patterns 11’
Kamala Sankaram – A Conjuring for Deborah Lipp 6’ – String Trio
Caroline Shaw – Entr’acte 11’
Elizabeth Gartman – soon, we’ll swim 5’
PERFORMERS
Bronx Arts Ensemble String Quartet
Jorge Ávila, violin
Evelyn Petcher Brandes, violin
Sally Shumway, viola
Eliana Mendoza, cello
Honduran-born violinist JORGE ÁVILA has won consistent high praise from The New York Times through his many appearances as a soloist, concertmaster, recitalist, and chamber musician. A recipient of various awards and honors, Jorge received his Green Card under the “Extraordinary Talent” category, later becoming a US citizen. He was awarded first prize at the 2001 Mu Phi Epsilon Music Competition, and the Omar del Carlo Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Center. Jorge is concertmaster of the Ridgefield Symphony, DCINY and Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series, and is a longtime artist member of the Bronx Arts Ensemble. He has appeared as concertmaster with the Stamford, Westfield and Greenwich Symphonies. In 2015 Jorge served as concertmaster of the orchestra appearing with His Holiness, Pope Francis, at a televised Mass held at Madison Square Garden.
Violinist and composer EVELYN PETCHER BRANDES brings a passion for innovation and community to both her performing and teaching. Her work frequently blurs the line between performance and workshop; she has performed all over the US and abroad at venues from international concert halls to community spaces like hospitals, museums, and coffee shops. She is a co-founder of Leadlights Ensemble, a community focused string quartet based in Washington Heights, and East Lake Expression Engine, an El Sistema inspired music education program for underprivileged youth in Chattanooga, TN. Evelyn performs regularly with the Bronx Arts Ensemble and Leadlights around NYC, and has been awarded several grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for musical projects. She has served as a teaching artist for organizations such as the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers program, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, the Little Orchestra Society, the Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and LEAP NYC
Violist SALLY SHUMWAY has been an artist member of the Bronx Arts Ensemble since 1991. She appears on BAE recordings in works by Carlos Surinach, Robert Baksa, Meyer Kupferman, Soong Fu Yuan, Allen Brings and Roberto Sierra. Sally is a longtime member of the American Symphony Orchestra, and also appears on movie soundtracks, TV jingles and Broadway soundtracks. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas and Manhattan School of Music, and is on the faculty of the Ridgewood (NJ) Conservatory.
ELIANA MENDOZA has performed extensively as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. She received a Diploma in Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. A Winner of the Artists International Competition, she made her solo debut at Weill Recital Hall in New York. Eliana also performed a solo recital on WGBH, National Public Radio in Boston, and reviews from The Enterprise, Brockton, MA have praised her as “…. a total artist…with a fluid touch, an impassioned mood and notable bearing.” Eliana is also a member of the American Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra and Westchester Philharmonic.
ELIZABETH GARTMAN is a composer, soprano, and educator currently based in New York City. With compositions described as “refreshingly absurd” (The Washington Post) and “innovative” (Twin Cities Arts Reader), Elizabeth’s work explores vocalism in its connection to the physical body. She considers her music to be an autonomous process in performance, centered on active listening and response. Elizabeth’s music has been commissioned by the Washington National Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, New Chamber Ballet, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, Guerilla Opera, InfraSound Ensemble, Ensemble Chemie, Pax Duo, the Why Collective, NYC Virtuoso Singers, Confluss, Bronx Arts Ensemble, Experiments in Opera, and others. Recent accolades include selection as a winner of SOLI Chamber Ensemble’s 30x30x30 Project Call-for-scores (2024), composer fellow with the American Opera Initiative (2023), Honorable Mention for the Darmstadt Ferienkurse Kranichsteiner Musikpreis (2023), the William Schuman Prize for Most Outstanding Score with BMI Student Composer Awards (2021), and runner-up of Beth Morrison Projects’ Next Generation (2022). Elizabeth holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (M.M. Composition 2021) and the University of Illinois (B.M. Vocal Performance, B.M. Composition 2019). She serves as a faculty member at Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School in composition and theory.
Driving
From the West (New Jersey, Pennsylvania):
- Take the George Washington Bridge. Exit for Henry Hudson Parkway North. Northbound, take Exit 22, West 253rd Street. Turn right at the stop sign and bear right over the parkway to Riverdale Avenue. Follow Riverdale Avenue to 263rd Street. Turn left into the campus.
From the South (Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan):
- Head north on Manhattan’s West Side Highway to the Henry Hudson Parkway North. Northbound, take Exit 22, West 253rd Street. Turn right at the stop sign and bear right over the parkway to Riverdale Avenue. Follow Riverdale Avenue to 263rd Street. Turn left into the campus.
From the East (Long Island, Queens):
- Take the Throgs Neck or Whitestone Bridge to the Cross Bronx Expressway. Exit at Rosedale Ave/Bronx River Parkway. Take the Bronx River Parkway North to the Mosholu Parkway. Turn right at the light and take the Mosholu to the Henry Hudson Parkway South. Take Exit 22, West 254th Street. Turn left at the stop sign and continue one block to Riverdale Avenue. Turn right and follow Riverdale Avenue to 263rd Street. Turn left into the campus.
- Or, take the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge) to the Major Deegan Expressway to Exit 11, Van Cortlandt Park South. Bear right off the expressway to Broadway. Turn right on Broadway to 261st Street. Turn left on 261st Street to Riverdale Avenue. Turn right and follow Riverdale Avenue to 263rd Street. Turn left into the campus.
From the North (Upstate NY, New England):
- Take the NY State Thruway, the Taconic State Parkway, Sprain Brook Parkway, Bronx River, or Hutchinson River Parkway South to the Cross County Parkway West. Continue to the Saw Mill River Parkway South to the Henry Hudson Parkway South. Take Exit 22, West 254th Street. Turn left at the stop sign and go one block to Riverdale Avenue. Turn right and proceed north on Riverdale Avenue to 263rd Street. Turn left into the campus.
Public Transportation
NYC Subway:
- A train (to Inwood – 207th Street), walk to Broadway and Isham Street, then take the Bx7 bus to Riverdale Avenue and 263rd Street.
- 1 train (to Van Cortlandt and 242nd Street), get off at 231st Street, then take the Bx7 or Bx10 bus to Riverdale Avenue and 263rd Street.
MTA Bus – Local and Express Routes:
- Local Bronx Buses: Bx7 and Bx10 pick-up and drop-off at the campus gate (Riverdale Avenue at 263rd Street).
- Manhattan/Riverdale Express Buses: BxM1 and BxM2 pick-up at Riverdale Avenue and 261st Street and drop-off at the campus gate (Riverdale Avenue and 263rd Street).
- View NYC Subway and Bus Schedules.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Council and District 11 Councilmember Eric Dinowitz and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs’ FY2025 Cultural Development Fund (CDF).
