Quartet members are (l-r) Michelle Djokic, Keith Lawrence, Alisa Rose, and Jeremy Cohen.
Quartet San Francisco heats up the cold night air on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 7 when it performs in a Hot & Cool: Jazz at the Brubeck concert. Formed in 2001, the quartet is a group of crossover specialists who embrace a multitude of styles ranging from jazz to tango, pop to funk, blues to bluegrass, gypsy swing to big band and much more.
The members include:
• Jeremy Cohen, violinist, executes electrifying jazz violin performances that have earned him nationwide accolades. Classically-trained and a student of Itzhak Perlman and Anne Crowden, Cohen's eclectic style reflects his respect for a wide range of violinists from Perlman and Fritz Kreisler to Joe Venuti and Eddie South. Cohen has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Virginia Symphony, the California Symphony and the Reno Philharmonic. He appeared on Carlos Santana’s Grammy-winning CD "Supernatural" and the original "Star Wars" compilation CD with John Williams.
• Michelle Djokic, cellist, is the Founding Artistic Director of the Concordia Chamber Players based in New Hope, PA, now in their 12th season. Residing in the Bay area since 2004, Ms. Djokic served as Assistant principal cellist of the San Francisco Symphony from 2005-2007. In 2008 she won a position with the New Century Chamber Orchestra. In the fall of 2008 she recorded the “Piazzola Four Seasons” as principal cellist with music director and violinist Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg. She also recorded the “Trio for Trumpet, Cello and Piano” by Eric Ewazen for Albany Records with the composer at the piano and Chris Gekker on trumpet.
• Keith Lawrence, violist, began playing viola at age 11. His study of viola continued at the Creative and Performing Arts Middle and High Schools in Pittsburgh, the Interlochen Arts Academy, and The Winchester Thurston School. After graduating from North Allegheny Senior High School in 1999, Lawrence enrolled as a viola performance major at the Oberlin Conservatory under the tutelage of Peter Slowik and Roger Chase where he received his undergraduate degree in 2003. He attended the Henry Mancini Institute in 1999, 2001 and 2002. Lawrence completed his graduate studies at the DePaul University School of Music as a student of Rami Solomonow in 2007.
• Alisa Rose, violinist, is from Verona, Wisconsin where she started playing the violin at the age of three and won her first fiddle competition at age five. Involved in many different musical genres, Alisa is a member of the Picasso Quartet, the Real Vocal String Quartet, Homespun Rowdy, 49 Special, and A.J. Roach and the Strange Pilgrims. She has performed many times at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and has also appeared at the Strawberry Music Festival, Olympic Music Festival, Carter Fold Festival, Blue Highways Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands, Cleveland's Reinberger Chamber Hall, Carnegie Hall, and on PBS' "Songs of the Mountains."
Earlier this month, the Quartet San Francisco received two Grammy Award nominations for its first-ever all Brubeck string quartet CD, QSF Plays Brubeck, with selections such as “Blue Rondo A La Turk,” “Take Five” and “Unsquare Dance.” The CD was nominated for the Classical Crossover category and Best Engineered Classical CD. It is the group's third consecutive Best Album nomination.
Hot & Cool: Jazz at the Brubeck is made possible by a generous grant from the William and Karen Tell Foundation with special thanks to Catherine and Ed Romer, and Tish and Chris Brubeck. A reception follows the concert. The suggested donation for the performance is $10 per person. Advance registration is strongly recommended due to the popularity of this concert series. Pre-registrants must arrive by 6:50 p.m. to be guaranteed seating; waitlisted and walk-in registrants will be seated after 6:50 p.m. if space is available. For information, directions and to register, visit www.wiltonlibrary.org/events or call (203) 762-3950. Wilton Library is located at 137 Old Ridgefield Road in the heart of Wilton Center.
