The annual Bessie Bartlett Frankel Festival of Chamber Music at Scripps College will feature the New Zealand String Quartet on Saturday, September 25, at 8 p.m. in Garrison Theater at the Scripps College Performing Arts Center on 10th and Dartmouth in Claremont. For more information about The Bessie Bartlett Frankel Festival of Chamber Music, please call 909-607-9164 or 909-607-3266.
Acclaimed for its powerful communication, dramatic energy, and beauty of sound, the New Zealand String Quartet is composed of musicians Helene Pohl and Douglas Beilman on violin, Gillian Ansell on viola, and Rolf Gjelsten on cello. The quartet performs more than 75 concerts each year, regularly touring North America, Europe and Asia. In 2000 the group made its London debut at The Wigmore Hall, and in 2003 its New York debut at prestigious Frick Collection.
Dedicated teachers as well as performers, the quartet has been Quartet-in-Residence at Victoria University of Wellington since 1991. In North America it has been guest faculty at the Banff Centrem Quartet Fest West, and the Quartet Programme at Bucknell in Pennsylvania. The quartet has also established its own advanced summer school of chamber music in New Zealand.
The groups performance highlights to date include; a performance of Bartok’s cycle of six string quartets (released on CD in 1998), a performance of the Cresswell Concerto for String Quartet with the BBC Scottish Symphony, and numerous performances of Beethoven’s complete cycle of 16 string quartets. The quartets recordings include; the Debussy and string quartets, Beethoven’s “Rasumovsky” Opus 59 nos 2 & 3, and Szekely and Dvorak string quartets.
Violinist Helene Pohl joined the New Zealand String Quartet as first violinist in February 1994 and became a New Zealand citizen in 1997. In 2001 she became Artistic Director, with fellow quartet member Gillian Ansell, of the Adam New Zealand Festival of Chamber Music.
Douglas Beilman, also on violin, was a co-founder of the Adam New Zealand Festival of Chamber Music and was its artistic Director until 2001. He has been soloist and guest leader of the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra and has performed concertos with other New Zealand orchestras. As both a founding member of the 20th century ensemble CadeNZa and as an individual he has participated extensively in premiere performances of New Zealand and international compositions.
After working professionally in London for three years, viola player, Gillian Ansell, returned to New Zealand to become a founding member of the New Zealand String Quartet. She was second violinist for two years before taking up the position of violist of the group. In 2001 she became Artistic Director, with fellow quartet member Helene Pohl, of the Adam New Zealand Festival of Chamber Music.
Rolf Gjelsten, on cello, was a member of the Laurtentian Quartet for almost a decade. While with the quartet he toured internationally and made numerous CDs. He was also a member of the New York Piano Trio. He performed with such eminent artists as Lilian Kallir, Menahem Pressler, Anthony Newman, Gervaise de Peyer, Franco Gulli and members of the Hungarian and Tokyo String Quartets. In May 1994 he joined the New Zealand String Quartet and became a New Zealand citizen in 1997.