(SEWELL, NJ) -- Music at Bunker Hill presents the Dover Quartet, featuring Joel Link and Bryan Lee, violins, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola, Camden Shaw, cello, on Sunday, April 24 at 3:00pm . The Dover Quartet appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music, where it serves as the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence.
Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the GRAMMY® nominated Dover Quartet has followed a “practically meteoric” (Strings) trajectory to become one of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world. In their program GLIMPSES OF NEW WORLDS, Dover explores the works of Stravinsky, Mozart and Ravel.
The Dover Quartet draws from the lineage of the distinguished Guarneri, Cleveland, and Vermeer quartets. Its members studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where they were mentored extensively by Shmuel Ashkenasi, James Dunham, Norman Fischer, Kenneth Goldsmith, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, and Peter Wiley. It was at Curtis that the Dover Quartet formed, and its name pays tribute to Dover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber.
In keeping with safety guidelines, capacity has been capped at 50%, and proof of vaccine and booster is required. Masks are worn. A livestream will be available to ticket holders for one week after each concert.
The concert will be held at Bunker Hill Presbyterian Church at 330 Greentree Road, Sewell, New Jersey. Tickets are $12 for students and $28 for adults and seniors. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Repertoire:
Three Pieces Igor Stravinsky
Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonance”)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concertino Igor Stravinsky
Quartet in F major Maurice Ravel
The Dover Quartet’s active 2021–22 season includes world premiere performances of Marc Neikrug’s Piano Quintet No. 2 at the Kennedy Center with Haochen Zhang, Chris Rogerson’s Dream Sequence for Santa Fe Pro Musica with Anne-Marie McDermott, and Steven Mackey’s theatrical musical work Memoir at Artosphere with arx duo and narrator Natalie Christa. Other recent and upcoming artist collaborations include performances with the Escher String Quartet, Bridget Kibbey, the Pavel Haas Quartet, and Davóne Tines. The quartet has also recently collaborated with artists including Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnaton, Ray Chen, Edgar Meyer, Anthony McGill, the late Peter Serkin, and Roomful of Teeth.
Joel Link is a violinist with the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Link is an active soloist and chamber musician; and has been a top prize winner of numerous competitions including the Johansen International Competition in Washington, D.C. and the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in England, for which he was featured in The Strad magazine. Mr. Link has appeared on numerous radio shows, including NPR’s From the Top.
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Mr. Link studied with renowned violinists Joseph Silverstein and Pamela Frank, and served as the Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster for the 2009–10 season. He has attended music festivals across the globe, including the Ravinia Festival, the Marlboro Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire. As a member of the Dover Quartet, Mr. Link won first prize and every special award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013 and the gold medal and grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2010; and performs over 100 concerts around the world annually.
Mr. Link plays a very fine Peter Guarneri of Mantua violin kindly loaned to him by Irene R. Miller through the Beare’s International Violin Society.
Mr. Link joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020. He also teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Bryan Lee is a violinist with the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Lee has performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Delaware, Lansdowne, and Temple University symphony orchestras, among others. He has been awarded the bronze medal at the Stulberg International String Competition and second prize at the Kingsville Young Performers Competition. With the Dover Quartet he won first prize and every special award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013, and the gold medal and grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2010. He has been featured on NPR’s From the Top and has attended Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, Music from Angel Fire, Encore School for Strings, Sarasota Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, and the Perlman Music Program.
Mr. Lee has served as associate concertmaster of Symphony in C and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and as a substitute for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Lee is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Pamela Frank and Victor Danchenko. His previous studies were with Choong-Jin Chang and Soovin Kim. He performs on a 1904 Riccardo Antoniazzi and a 2020 violin by Brooklyn-based maker Samuel Zygmuntowicz.
Mr. Lee joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020. He also teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt is the violist of the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. Ms. Pajaro-van de Stadt has appeared as a soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony, and the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra; has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia including an acclaimed 2011 debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall; and has served on the juries of the Sphinx Competition and the Banff International String Quartet Competition.
With the Dover Quartet she won first prize and every special award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013, and the gold medal and grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2010. Her numerous awards also include first prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, and top prizes at the Tokyo International Viola Competition and the Sphinx Competition.
A violin student of Sergiu Schwartz and Melissa Pierson-Barrett for several years, she began studying viola with Michael Klotz at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in 2005. Ms. Pajaro-van de Stadt graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Roberto Díaz, Michael Tree, Misha Amory, and Joseph de Pasquale. She received a master’s degree in string quartet performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she studied with James Dunham as a member of the Dover Quartet.
Ms. Pajaro-van de Stadt joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020. She also teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Camden Shaw is the cellist of the Dover Quartet, the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music. He has appeared with the ensemble in performances all over the world to great acclaim. Mr. Shaw has collaborated in chamber music with such renowned artists as Daniel Hope, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and the late Leon Fleischer, and maintains an active career as a soloist. Highlights from recent seasons include a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, Op. 56 with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra, where Shaw also holds the principal chair; and the release of his solo album by Unipheye Music, which was met with critical praise.
With the Dover Quartet Mr. Shaw won first prize and every special award at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013, and the gold medal and grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2010. He graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2010, where he studied with Peter Wiley. Other major teachers include Norman Fischer, David Finckel, and Steven Isserlis. He performs on an instrument made in 2010 by Frank Ravatin.
Mr. Shaw joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020. He also teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
Music at Bunker Hill’s 2021-22 Season features celebrated classical musicians from near and far. The organization returned to in-person performance in October 2021. The South Jersey-based chamber music presenter’s 14th season includes six concerts, each featuring sought-after musicians who appear regularly with preeminent orchestras and at top venues throughout the world.
This program is made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Gloucester County Cultural and Heritage Commission.
Founded in 2008, Music at Bunker Hill brings great performers to the heart of southern New Jersey, enhancing the cultural life of our community by preserving the tradition of classical music while exploring other musical genres. With outreach concerts in schools and libraries, our artists inspire the next generation with their passion for the arts and standards of excellence. Our goal is to make great music affordable, accessible, and appealing to as many people as possible.
