Quad City Arts Visiting Artists The Marian Anderson Quartet -- March 29 and 30.

Friday, March 29

Moline Public Library, 3210 41st Street, Moline IA, noon

Butterworth Center, 1105 Eighth Street, Moline IA, 3 & 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 30

First Presbyterian Church, 1702 Iowa Street, Davenport IA, 7:30 p.m.

Named after the legendary contralto and recipient of such honors as the Congressional Gold Medal, the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the award-winning Marian Anderson String Quartet performs as the latest guests in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artist series, the classical musicians' March 29 and 30 performances showcasing the gifts that the Austin Chronicle called “as sweet and soothing as a hand laid gently upon your cheek.”

It was on September 30, 1989, that the founding members of the Marian Anderson String Quartet, then known as the Chaminade Quartet, initially came together, unaware that they would soon change history. In 1991, the musicians won the International Cleveland Quartet Competition, becoming the first African-American ensemble in history to win a classical-music competition. To highlight this singular achievement, the quartet's players – among them founding and current members Marianne Henry and Diedra Lawrence – asked permission of the great contralto Marian Anderson to use her name as their own. The 94-year-old Anderson responded with reportedly heartfelt approval and, in a memorable show of gratitude, the Marian Anderson String Quartet played for its legendary namesake and her nephew, conductor James DePriest.

With the ensemble now composed of Henry, Lawrence, Nicole Cherry, and Prudence McDaniel, the Marian Anderson String Quartet’s artistic endeavors have brought them to New York’s Alice Tully Hall, the Corcoran Gallery, the Library of Congress, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Kilbourn Hall, the University of Southern California, and the Chateau Cantanac-Brown in Bordeaux, France. The quartet’s distinguished history includes performances through the Da Camera Society, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and in 1993, the Marian Anderson String Quartet performed at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center as part of the 52nd presidential inaugural celebration. The foursome has also been on the faculty of numerous universities throughout the country, serving as Quartet in Residence at City College of New York and Ensemble in Residence at California State University – Los Angeles.

In addition to the Marian Anderson String Quartet's public performance at Davenport's First Presbyterian Church at 7:30 p.m. on March 30, the ensemble will perform three abbreviated versions of its concert on March 29: at the Moline Public Library at noon, and at Moline's Butterworth Center at 3 and 7 p.m. Admission is $10-15 to Saturday's evening concert and free for the Friday events, and more information is available by calling (309)793-1213 or visiting QuadCityArts.com.

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