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Cavani String Quartet, Louise Toppin, soprano,
Dr. Mark Lomax II, composer

Cavani String Quartet

January 28, 2023 – 4:00 pm @ Southern Theatre – VIEW PROGRAM »

Described by the Washington Post as “ completely engrossing, powerful and elegant” the Cavani Quartet’s artistic excellence, generous spirit, and fervent ambassadorship for great music has placed them among America’s greatest string quartets. The quartet’s more than thirty year legacy has garnered impressive recognition including The Naumburg Award, Ohio Governors Award for the Arts, Musical America Magazine’s Young Artists of the Year, The Cleveland Quartet Award, ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, two time winner of The Guarneri Quartet Award Artistic Excellence, and recipients of  more than ten Chamber Music America Residency Partnership Grants.

The Cavani Quartet continues their journey maintaining an energetic balance between performing cycles of Beethoven and Bartôk quartets, collaborating with living composers such as Gabriela Lena Frank and Joan Tower, and creating multifaceted programming that combines music, poetry, and dance.

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Kyle Price, cello; Annie Fullard, violin; Catherine Cosbey, violin; Eric Wong, viola

Louise Toppin, soprano

Louise Toppin, finalist in the Munich International Competition and winner of the Metropolitan Opera regional auditions, has received critical acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, and oratorio performances in the United States, Czech Republic, Scotland, Japan, China, Uruguay, Sweden, the Caribbean, Bermuda, New Zealand, England, and Spain. She has appeared in recital on concert series including Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall), Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Licieu Theatre in Barcelona, Spain and the International Albeniz Festival in Camprodon, Spain.

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Dr. Mark Lomax II, composer

In an assuredly spectacular piece, Ohio-based talent takes centerstage with a composition written by Columbus-based Dr. Mark Lomax, II for the Cleveland-based Cavani String Quartet. The excitement crescendos with the accompaniment to the quartet, world-renowned vocalist Louise Toppin, who is the exclusive vocalist featured during the season.  Lomax draws inspiration from African-American art music, while Toppin specializes in concert repertoire of African American composers. This collaboration premieres on January 28, 2023. For Lomax, “there has never been a time in his life that music was not a part of me.” Allow his music to become a part of you.

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