NIU Today

  NIU’s quartet-in-residence, Avalon String Quartet, will perform the works of Joseph Hayden, Alberto Ginastera, and Benjamin Britten, 8 p.m., Sept. 20. The free concert will be held at the Recital Hall, Northern Illinois University, School of Music, 550 Lucinda Ave, DeKalb. “It’s a wildly contrasting program, full of color and intensity,” said Anthony Devroye,...

For musicians, perfecting their craft is a lifelong symphony. Those best prepared to hit the right notes are dedicated, lifelong learners. Cheng-Hou Lee, associate professor in the NIU School of Music, sets the stage for his students’ success. “I tailor what I tell each student. I try to find the most efficient way for them...

NIU’s Avalon String Quartet earned the praise of New York Times music reviewer Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, who enjoyed the group’s new CD, titled “Illuminations.” In the Sept. 2 edition of the “Classical Playlist,” the critic calls the new CD a “deeply satisfying recording.” “The Avalon String Quartet, playing with great warmth and tenderness, appears to...

NIU’s Avalon String Quartet will continue its fall season at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall. The program includes Brahms’ String Quartet No. 3 Op. 67 in Bb Major, the Debussy String Quartet Op. 10 in G Minor and the Garrop String Quartet No. 4, “Illuminations.” The concert is free...

NIU’s Avalon String Quartet will begin its fall season at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall of the NIU Music Building. The quartet will perform the Schumann String Quartet Op. 41 No 3 in A Major and the Brahms String Quartet No 2 in A Minor. The concert is free...

Tony Devroye, associate professor of viola at the NIU School of Music and violist of the famed Avalon String Quartet, has been named the new artistic director of Rush Hour Concerts. Rush Hour Concerts, a 15-year-old organization, brings high-quality classical music to the public for free in its weekly summer concert series at St. James...

NIU’s Avalon Quartet will join the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and its acclaimed Austrian Music Director David Danzmayr to present “A Premieres Project: Zemlinsky and Schuller.” The concert begins at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive in Chicago. Featuring the United States premiere of Alexander Zemlinsky’s...

NIU’s Avalon String Quartet will continue its season at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Boutell Memorial Concert Hall. The quartet will perform the Mozart String Quartet K 589 in Bb, Bartok’s String Quartet No. 3 and Schubert’s String Quartet in G Major D887. The concert is free and open to the public. Members of...

The NIU School of Music’s 2013-2014 Faculty Recital Series will open with music for viola and piano at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in the Recital Hall of the Music Building. Anthony Devroye, NIU associate professor and violist of the Avalon String Quartet, will collaborate with pianist Daniel Schlosberg, artist-in-residence at the University of Notre...

NIU’s Avalon String Quartet will welcome the renowned Chicago Chamber Musicians to join forces for a performance of Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring.” The free concert begins at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 2, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall at NIU. Founded in 1986, the Chicago Chamber Musicians is one of the nation’s most highly regarded...

An outstanding group of chamber musicians, led by one of the world’s foremost violinists, will perform a special guest artist recital at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the Recital Hall of the NIU Music Building. Admission is free. The Steans Music Institute at Ravinia, celebrating its 25th anniversary this summer, has been a breeding...

Cheng-Hou Lee, cellist with NIU’s Avalon Quartet, waited inside the Recital Hall of the Music Building. Meanwhile, his eventual audience listened to speeches in an auditorium some 825 miles away. Among those speakers at the 2012 Internet2 Fall Member Meeting in Philadelphia was Dan Nichols, Lee’s colleague in the NIU School of Music and the...