String Quartet - South Haven performance Series

String Quartet Presents Premiere Performance on July 18
SOUTH HAVEN -- The South Haven Performance Series will present the Burdick-Thorne String Quartet in concert on Friday, July 18, at the First United Methodist Church, 429 Michigan Ave. beginning at 7 p.m.
This will be the quartet’s premier performance in South Haven. The quartet was endowed and formed in 1995 as part of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra’s Artist in Residence program. The quartet’s history is closely allied to the KSO’s 75th anniversary commitment to expanding its community outreach.
The Burdick-Thorne String Quartet represents chamber music in its purest form. In celebration of Franz Josef Haydn, the “father of the string quartet,” the quartet will feature his String Quartet No. 39 in C major in its July 18 performance. Other selections will include works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Debussy. The program will also include a series of Tangos and Folk Songs.
The members of the Burdick-Thorne String Quartet bring impressive resumes on their instruments.
First Violinist Emelyn Bashour grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, and now lives in Ann Arbor. She did her undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, received a master’s degree at the University of Michigan, and is currently studying at Michigan State University for her doctorate. She has been playing with the KSO since the 2022-23 season.
Lisa A. Williams is Artist in Residence and Principal Second Violin with the KSO. As a dedicated chamber musician, she has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In Michigan she has appeared in the Fontana Festival of Music and Art, the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck, the Mackinac Island Performing Arts concert series, and the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music.
Violist Nicholas Jeffery teaches in Kalamazoo and holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a performer, he has been a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, as well as several chamber music ensembles.
Brook Bennett, in addition to playing with the KSO, is the principal cellist of the Southwest Michigan Symphony and associate principal cellist of the South Bend Symphony. He is currently on the faculty of the string orchestra program at Bethany Christian Schools and maintains an active home private studio.
Bennett is a registered teacher of the Suzuki method and holds degrees in cello performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and State University of New York.
Founded in 2010, the South Haven Performance Series is an all-volunteer community-based organization committed to providing a rich mixture of musical arts for area residents and visitors. Most concerts are held during the summer months with an additional holiday concert presented in December.
Performances are provided thanks to the generous support of the South Haven Community Foundation, corporate sponsors, and individual donors. A modest $15 admission fee is charged for the summer concerts while the holiday concert is presented free of charge as a gift to the community. Students are always admitted free. Tickets are sold on the evening of the concert.
 
Founded in 2010, the South Haven Performance Series is an all-volunteer community-based organization committed to providing a rich mixture of musical arts for area residents and visitors.  Most concerts are held during the summer months with an additional holiday concert to be presented in December.
Performances are provided thanks to the generous support of the South Haven Community Foundation, corporate sponsors, and individual donors. A modest $15 admission is charged for the summer concerts while a holiday concert is presented free of charge as a gift to the community. Students are always admitted free. Tickets are sold only on the evening of the concert.