The Amernet String Quartet, Caramoor's Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence, will present the world premiere of Joel Hoffman's String Quartet No. 3, commissioned by Caramoor, on July 21st at 7:30 p.m.

Hoffman's works draw from such diverse sources as Eastern European folk music and bebop, and are pervaded by a sense of lyricism and rhythmic vitality. In addition to the Hoffman premiere, the Quartet will perform Brahms's String Quartet in B-flat Major and Beethoven's String Quartet in A Major.

In the 2000 season, the Caramoor Festival initiated a Commissioning Project entitled A String Quartet Library for the 21st Century. Since then, it has commissioned a string quartet each year, to be written for, and premiered by the current Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence. Thus far, quartets by Augusta Reed Thomas, Brent Michael Davids, Marta Ptaszynska, John Harbison, and David Horne have been performed.

Joel Hoffman's String Quartet No. 3 is the sixth work in the project. Next season, the 2005 - 2006 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence, the Jupiter Quartet, will present a world premiere by John Musto, Caramoor's Composer in Residence during the 2005 - 2006 season.   

Artists
Joel Hoffman has composed works that have been performed by the Chicago Symphony Brass, the BBC Orchestra of Wales, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, and the Golub-Kaplan-Carr Trio. Other works include "Self-Portrait with Gebirtig", for cello and orchestra, has been performed in New York, Paris, Tel Aviv, San Jose (Costa Rica), Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Santa Barbara, Kronberg (Germany), and has been recorded by the Berlin Radio Symphony, the Kiev Chamber Orchestra as well as by the Slovenian Radio Symphony in Lubliana. Hoffman's recent opera, "The Memory Game", received its first performances in May of 2003. A new work, "Brave Old Mordechai" was recently taken on tour in Holland by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Brave Old World in November, 2003. Currently, Hoffman is Professor of Composition at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. 

The Amernet String Quartet, comprised of Misha Vitenson, violin; Marcia Littley, violin; Michael Klotz, viola; Javier Arias, cello, has garnered worldwide praise as one of today's exceptional young string quartets since winning a Gold Medal at the Tokyo International Music Competition in 1992. The Amernet String Quartet was formed in 1991, while two of its members were students at The Juilliard School. They have performed in the major musical centers and smaller cities across the United States and have had concerts in Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Korea, Mexico, and most recently, in Romania. In January 2004 the Amernet String Quartet was named Quartet-in-Residence at Florida International University. Additionally, they are the 2004-2005 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence for the Caramoor Center for the Arts. From September of 2000 until May 2004 the Amernet String Quartet was Corbett String Quartet in Residence at Northern Kentucky University, where they headed the Patricia A. Corbett String Program. Previous to that, the group held a residency at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where they taught chamber music for four years.

July 21                                         Amernet String Quartet
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.         Caramoor's Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence
Spanish Courtyard           Misha Vitenson, violin
Tickets:  $22.50, $15         Marcia Littley, violin
                                                          Michael Klotz, viola
                                                          Javier Arias, cello

Beethoven                                String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18 No. 5
Hoffman                                   String Quartet No. 3 (World Premiere) 
                                                         Volume VI of Caramoor's commissioning project,
                                                         A String Quartet Library for the 21st Century
Brahms                                     String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 67, No. 3.

About Caramoor
Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built the great house and filled it with their treasures. Walter Rosen was the master planner for the Caramoor estate, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world. Their musical evenings were the seeds of the International Music Festival of today. Realizing the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor - the house with its art collection; the gardens; and the musical programs on summer evenings - the Rosens established a Foundation to open Caramoor to the public in perpetuity.

Lucie Rosen survived her husband by seventeen years. During those years, she expanded the Music Festival: The Spanish Courtyard was used as a setting for musical events, as it is today. Under her direction, the great stage of the Venetian Theater was built.

Caramoor is a Garden of Great Music. "We invite people to come early, explore our beautiful grounds, take a tour of the House Museum, visit our gift shops, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in a relaxed setting," advises Paul Rosenblum, Caramoor's Managing Director. With its unique heritage, Caramoor remains a place where magical summer days and nights are shared and enjoyed by thousands. "Caramoor is the loveliest Festival of them all." - The New York Times

Art and Gardens
Concerts take place in two outdoor theaters - the large, acoustically superb Venetian Theater, and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard. Caramoor is more than just music - there is beauty at every turn. The House Museum, the former summer home of Caramoor's founders, Lucie and Walter Rosen, contains a vast collection of Renaissance, 18th-century, and Eastern art objects - furniture, tapestries, sculpture, paintings, fabrics, porcelain and jade. There are entire rooms that were imported from European palaces and villas, twenty of which are open to the public. On Thursdays and Fridays, Afternoon Tea is served in the Summer Dining Room, overlooking the Spanish Courtyard.

A special exhibition, "If These Walls Could Talk: 17th, 18th, and 19th Century Wall Decorations at Caramoor," will be on view in the House Museum from May 14 through December 2005.

Caramoor's gardens are also well worth the visit. Nine unique perennial gardens - including a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, a Butterfly Garden, a Medieval Mount, (and two whose special characteristics are enjoyed primarily at night), may be seen on a guided tour or on one's own.

House Museum
Guided tours of the House Museum are provided from Wednesday through Sunday, 1:00-4:00 p.m., with the last tour at 3:00 p.m. On Saturdays during the Festival, tours are given from 1:00-5:00 p.m., with the last tour at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $9 (children 16 and under free). Admission includes the special exhibition, "If These Walls Could Talk."

Getting to Caramoor
Caramoor is easy to get to by car or mass transportation. From Manhattan, take the Caramoor Caravan and ride comfortably in a luxurious, air-conditioned coach. Round trip service is $21 and is available for all Saturday and Sunday performances during the festival. The Caravan departs from the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Upper West Side and East Side locations. Call the Box Office (914-232-1252) for further information and reservations. By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York. Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available. By car: (West Side Manhattan and New Jersey) Take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah. Exit at Route 35/Cross River. Turn right, and at the first traffic light make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor. (Detailed directions: 914-232-5035, press 2, or online at www.caramoor.org). Tickets may be ordered by calling the Box Office at 914-232-1252 or online at www.caramoor.org.