“From start to finish, everything was absolutely flawless…The Dover Quartet could play anything for us, and we would ask for more…An amazing, beautiful quartet.” La Presse
Chamber Music Concerts (CMC) opens its 2025-26 season with the Dover String Quartet on Sunday, October 12th at 3pm at the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall, 450 S Mountain Ave, Ashland, OR. Purchase tickets at ChamberMusicConcerts.org or call 541-552-6154.
CMC’s longtime audience members have been treated to the Dover Quartet many times — it’s one of the most lauded and respected ensembles in the world. Twice nominated for a GRAMMY Award, the Dover dwell in rarified air, but one of their members is an Ashland native: cellist Camden Shaw was born and raised in Ashland, and from the throng of former teachers, friends, and family who come to the quartet’s concerts to see him, he’s clearly become a bit of a celebrity over the years.
Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine and “the next Guarneri Quartet” by the Chicago Tribune, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated Dover Quartet is one of the world’s most in-demand chamber ensembles. The group’s awards include a stunning sweep of all prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Its honors include the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award. The Dover Quartet is the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music and Quartet in Residence at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
The Dover members studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, the New England Conservatory, and the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Formed at Curtis in 2008, its name pays tribute to Dover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber.
The concert program features Jessie Montgomery’s Strum; Karol Szymanowski’s Quartet no. 1 in C Major, Op. 37; and Felix Mendelssohn’s Quartet no. 6 in F Minor, Op. 80.
Tickets are $49/59, with discounts available for full-time students and Oregon Trail Card holders. Purchase online at ChamberMusicConcerts.org or by calling 541-552-6154. Don’t miss the free pre-concert lecture at 2pm.
