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	Biava Quartet Click on image to download print-quality version

GRANTHAM, Pa. (August 18, 2004) — The Biava Quartet, the winner of the prestigious 2003 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition, will open the new season of the Messiah College Cultural Series on Friday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m., in Miller Auditorium, located in Climenhaga Fine Arts Center on the college’s Grantham campus. Tickets cost $20 and can be purchased by calling the Messiah College ticket office at (717) 691-6036.

The Biava Quartet is named for conductor and mentor Maestro Luis Biava of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The first violinist, Austin Hartman, of Elizabethtown , Pa. , is a native of central Pennsylvania . The Biava Quartet has reached audiences world-wide, engaging listeners with its sensitive musicianship and expressive interpretations. Formed in the fall of 1998, the Biava Quartet has been awarded numerous honors including top prizes at the Young Concert Artist International Auditions in both 2002 and 2003, as well as The 55 th Coleman National Chamber Music Competition and the 2001 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Recent graduates of The Cleveland Institute of Music, the Biava Quartet has studied in Boston at the New England Conservatory of Music in the Professional String Quartet Program under the direction of Paul Katz.

The Biava Quartet enjoys an active international touring schedule and performs in some of the world’s most recognized concert venues. Highlights from its 2002-3003 concert season include a debut recital at Jordan Hall in Boston , a concert tour of Italy , two performances at London ’s Wigmore Hall, as well as debut performances on concert series throughout Michigan , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Virginia , and Washington D.C. Other recent performances include appearances at Norton Chamber Music Series, concerts throughout Cleveland, Ohio, at venues such as Severance Hall and The Cleveland Museum of Art, a performance at Carnegie Hall as part of the Isaac Stern Seminar, and an Italian tour as part of the Emilia Romagna Festival.

The Cultural Series is a public five-part annual performance series sponsored by Messiah College . In addition to Biava Quartet, the remaining performances are: Behind the Broken Words, a two-man theatrical performance starring film and television veterans Anthony Zerbe and Roscoe Lee Browne on Oct. 15, 2004; Canadian fiddling champion April Verch on Nov. 5, 2004; the Aspen Ensemble chamber musicians on Feb. 18, 2005; and the Tim Warfield jazz sextet on March 18, 2005. Season subscriptions for all five Cultural Series events are available for $85. Tickets for individual performances cost $20 each; call (717) 691-6036.

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ARTICLE DATE: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2004
ARTICLE NUMBER: MC-099-04