Current Opportunites

Recent Commissions
In late 2002, The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet Association issued a call for proposals from emerging composers residing in the United States to apply for a $5,500 commission to compose a new work (15-20 mn) for the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet. The funding for this project was awarded to the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet Association by the Jerome Foundation. The selected composers and their new works are:

Anthony Gatto, Minneapolis - Unbreak My Heart
Huang Ruo, New York - Four Visions for Guitar Quartet
Ileana Perez Velazquez, Massachusetts - Beguiling Breezes

While no commissioning projects are planned for the immediate future, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet is always interested in learning about new repertoire for guitar quartet. Reach us by mail at: MGQ Association, Joe Hagedorn, 2550 Dupont Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55405. E-mail questions to: joe@minneapolisguitarquartet.com

Works in progress

Ileana Perez Velazquez - Beguiling Breezes - upcoming performances:

December 2, 2005, Williamstown, MA
December 4, 2005, St. Paul, MN

Huang Ruo - Four Visions - upcoming performances:

November 12, 2006, Minneapolis, MN

Daniel Bernard Roumain - Ghetto Strings - upcoming performances:

October 27, 2005, Holland, MI
October 29, 2005, Midland, MI
December 2, 2005, Williamstown, MA
December 4, 2005, St. Paul, MN
January 27, 2006, Kearney, NE
February 3, 2006, Woodbury, MN
February 12, 2006, Placitas, NM
April 4, 2006, Duluth, MN

David Kechley - Voices from the Garden - upcoming performances:

October 27, 2005, Holland, MI
October 29, 2005, Midland, MI
December 2, 2005, Williamstown, MA
December 4, 2005, St. Paul, MN
January 27, 2006, Kearney, NE
February 3, 2006, Woodbury, MN
February 12, 2006, Placitas, NM
April 4, 2006, Duluth, MN

Jeff Lambert - Chicago Summer & Minnesota Winter - upcoming performances:

October 27, 2005, Holland, MI
October 29, 2005, Midland, MI
December 1, 2005, Williamstown, MA
December 4, 2005, St. Paul, MN
January 27, 2006, Kearney, NE
February 3, 2006, Woodbury, MN
February 12, 2006, Placitas, NM
April 4, 2006, Duluth, MN

New Works Commissioned and/or Premiered by the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet

William Bardwell	Allegretto Pizzicato (1989)
Leslie Bassett	Narratives (1993)
Robert Bowen	46-41-KC (2000)
Yuanlin Chen	Chasing the Sun (2002)
David Crittenden	A Scottish Fantasy (1996)
David Crittenden	Dust to Dust (1997)
Anthony Gatto	Unbreak My Heart (2003)
David Hahn	Concerto alla Barocco (with orchestra) (2003)
Edie Hill	Above the Green Night (2001)
Alf S. Houkom	Wildflower Dancing (1997)
Eleanor Hovda	Armonia (1992)
Huang Ruo	Four Visions (2004)
David Kechley	Voices from the Garden (1993)
Ian Krouse	Cantiga Variations (with orchestra) (1995)
Ian Krouse	The Civil Guard (with tenor) (1998)
Bun-Ching Lam	Fa (1996)
Jeff Lambert	Triptych (2002)
Jeff Lambert	Chicago Summer (2003)
James McGuire	Serenade (1989)
Lewis Nielson	Fantasy Quartet (1995)
Juliet Palmer	Tufa (1995)
John Puterbaugh	The Enduing Vicinage (1995)
O. Nicholas Raths	White Out (1996)
Preston Reed	Groovophrenia (1999)
Daniel Bernard Roumain	Ghetto Strings (2001)
Naomi Sekiya	Tobila (1993)
Alan Shockley	Celluloid Night (2000)
Van Steifel	Four Guitars in a Thought Bubble (2000)
David Evan Thomas	Thrum (2002)
Janika Vandervelde	Genesis V (1987)
Ileana Perez Velazquez	Beguiling Breezes (2003)
Peter Velikonja	El Gaucho Placebo (1995)

Reviews

Minneapolis Star Tribune - Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - Larry Fuchsberg
"David Evan Thomas’ "Thrum" is a substantial addition to the catalog of this introspective Twin Cities composer. Thomas’ virtues, best exemplified in his leisurely middle movement, are lyrical depth and understated sophistication. He integrates strikingly diverse material without impeding the musical flow. His piece deserves a life beyond its premiere."
Yuanlin Chen’s "Chasing the Sun" - "Incorporating slides, bent notes and other techniques borrowed from the lute-like Chinese pipa, Chen’s piece is an astonishing achievement for his first guitar work. The ghostly arpeggios at the end of the second movement and a concluding threnody in whispered harmonics are especially memorable, but the entire work is of a high order."

Minneapolis Star Tribune - Sunday, December 16, 2001 - Larry Fuchsberg
Daniel Bernard Roumain’s "Ghetto Strings" - "The Harlem-based Roumain is a man worth watching, judging from this piece… Exploring three American ghettos and Haiti, "Ghetto Strings" is simultaneously street-smart and learned. The inner movements are especially strong: "Liberty City"(a Miami neighborhood) is Latin-accented and plaintive, while "Motor City," ostensibly a portrait of Detroit, could pass for the work of a Brazilian minimalist."

Athens(GA) Daily News - Monday, April 21, 1997 - Cat Mantione-Holmes
Bun-Ching Lam’s "Fa" - "Drawing on the many different meanings of the Chinese word Fa – transformation, dissolving, chemistry, attaining enlightenment – the work was a fascinating mix of dissonance and harmony, single notes and layering of sound." Lewis Nielson’s "Fantasy Quartet" - "…took the audience through a sonic journey that began with ponderous monotony, then blasted off into the musical stratosphere. The flight included fierce exclamations of discord and chaos and moments of feather-light, harp-like union. It was a moving piece, and MGQ played it with passion and breath-taking dexterity."