The genre-defying string quartet Brooklyn Rider has worked with some of the world's most revered composers, performed with scores of talented musicians and played on stages in venues as varied as pubs, temples and highly touted festivals.
This week, the four-member ensemble composed of violinists Jonathan Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violist Nicholas Cords and cellist Eric Jacobsen, comes to Minnesota to co-headline the Stillwater Music Festival. The week-long event begins with a concert Tuesday at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis and continues in the St. Croix River city with performances Friday at the Washington County Historic Courthouse and Aug. 31 at Trinity Lutheran Church. The festival also includes a free one-hour family program Aug. 30 at the Stillwater Public Library.
It's the most ambitious schedule of performances in the history of the five-year-old festival, which was founded in 2005 by Brooklyn Rider's members, three of whom have Minnesota ties.
Brothers Eric and Colin Jacobsen spent summers at their grandparent's cabin on Square Lake in White Bear Lake, and their father, Edmund, was a violinist with the Minneapolis Symphony (now the Minnesota Orchestra). Nicholas Cordes grew up in White Bear Lake and studied at the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis. Along with Gandelsman, all are veterans of famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road project.
"Five years is a good number to celebrate," said Cordes. "When we formed our ensemble, we knew this [Stillwater] would be a great place for a festival and to try out our repertoire. We had no grand goals in mind, but we've had overwhelming support by the community and loyal audiences."
With its eclectic musical styles, Brooklyn Rider has collaborated with guests such as Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, singer/songwriter Christina Courtin and Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes. This year the ensemble will introduce Kojiro Umezaki, a Japanese shakuhachi (bamboo flute) player, the chamber/rock trio 2 Foot Yard, and the Knights, a New York-based ensemble founded by the brothers Jacobsen. The Knights ensemble includes the members of Brooklyn Rider.
Brooklyn Rider also has worked with composers such as jazz great Philip Glass and Osvaldo Golijov while tackling everything from classics by Haydn and DeBussy to the music of today. In the process, it's won the praise of national critics, including the New York Times.
"There is something for everybody," Cordes said. "They will come away with something they were not expecting. The audience takes a journey with us."
