The Abeo Quartet: violinist Rebecca Benjamin, cellist Brian Gadbow, violist James Kang and violinist Njioma Grievous.
Chesapeake Music presents the award-winning Abeo Quartet in concert on Saturday evening, October 7th at 7:30 p.m., at the Ebenezer Theater in Easton, Maryland. This is the final 2023 concert of Chesapeake Music’s Interlude Concert series, which focuses on presenting chamber artists and composers who are on the cusp of breaking through to national and international careers.
The Abeo will delight the audience with performances of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 12, Op. 127 in E-flat Major and Brahms’ String Quartet Op. 51, No. 1 in C minor. Also featured will be a new work by 24-year-old Iranian-American composer Kian Ravaei. His seven-movement 20-minute composition for string quartet, The Little Things, premiered at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in June. Inspired by the writings of Emily Dickinson on aspects of nature, this work is scheduled for 2023 performances across the country, now including Easton. The three pieces selected by the quartet reflect a wide range of emotion and expression which the Abeo hopes will “take the audience on a journey that shows the breadth of the human experience.”
Formed at the Juilliard School in 2018, the quartet went on to quickly win the 2019 Silver Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Local concertgoers will likely remember Abeo’s outstanding performance in the 2022 Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition where it also garnered the Silver Prize. Since then, the quartet has participated and been a prize winner in other national and international competitions and is currently the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Delaware under the mentorship of the Calidore String Quartet.
The Abeo Quartet, comprised of violinists Njioma Grevious and Rebecca Benjamin, violist James Kang and cellist Brian Gadbow, has appeared on concert stages nationally and internationally, including Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center’s Reach Festival, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s masterclass series and on WQXR’s Midday Masterpieces. In 2022, the quartet performed in the Music@Menlo Chamber Institute and Workshop and the Juilliard String Quartet Workshop. During their time at Juilliard, Abeo studied regularly in the Honors Chamber Music Program under the tutelage of the Juilliard String Quartet.
Living up to its name Abeo / ah-bey-oh/ – an expression of joy in Nigerian dialect, the quartet’s performance in Easton is sure to reflect their love for playing chamber music and sharing it with others.
Based in Easton, Maryland, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring renowned jazz and classical musicians to delight, engage and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire, and develop tomorrow’s. They have been doing it for more than 35 years! To learn more about Chesapeake Music or to purchase tickets to this concert, visit their website at https://chesapeakemusic.org
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