WT’s Harrington String Quartet to Open Season Celebrating Tradition and Innovation

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University’s Harrington String Quartet officially will launch its 2026-2027 season Nov. 6 with its “Tradition and Innovation” concert.

HSQ’s “Melody Unbound” season will feature three concerts at The Church at Austin Park, 2525 Wimberly Road in Amarillo.

The season opener will feature Joseph Haydn’s Quartet in C Major, “Emperor”; Paul Hindemith’s Quartet No. 7; and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Quartet in E-Flat Major, “Harp.”

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6. Season tickets are on sale now for $50. Individual concert tickets are $20. Call 806-651-2840.

“While Haydn and Beethoven are now firmly established in the classical canon, both were innovators in their own time, expanding the expressive and technical possibilities of the string quartet,” said Dr. Brenton Caldwell, viola. “Hindemith continued this tradition in the 20th century, drawing upon the musical language of the past while forging a distinctive voice of his own.”

The quartet also includes Dr. Rossitza Goza, the Don and Dorothy Patterson Professor of Violin; Dr. Evgeny Zvonnikov, violin 2; and Emmanuel Lopez, WT’s Periman Distinguished Chair of Cello.

Haydn’s “Emperor” Quartet takes its nickname from its second movement, a set of variations on a melody that later became the German national anthem. Beethoven’s “Harp” Quartet earned its name from the distinctive pizzicato, or plucked string, passages exchanged among the four instruments, evoking the sound of a harp.

The quartet selected the work in anticipation of the bicentennial of Beethoven’s death in 2027.

Hindemith’s String Quartet No. 7 offers a fascinating connection between musical tradition and 20th-century modernism, Caldwell said. His music was condemned as “degenerate” by the Nazi regime, and he eventually immigrated to the United States, where he taught at Yale University.

This is the first time HSQ has performed a work by Hindemith.

“Throughout my musical life, I have had a deep love for Hindemith’s music, both as a violist and as a musician,” Caldwell said. “A friend and mentee from the University of North Texas suggested that I explore his Seventh Quartet, and I was immediately drawn to the idea of bringing it to the Harrington String Quartet. I am especially grateful to my colleagues for their openness and willingness to explore this remarkable work together.”

HSQ was established by a generous gift from the late Sybil B. Harrington to benefit the Panhandle community. From its founding in 1981, the quartet has brought stellar credentials and a refined sense of ensemble and musical integrity to performances across the nation and internationally.

HSQ’s collaborative recording with the Phoenix Chorale, “Northern Lights,” was distinguished as iTunes’s Best Classical Vocal Album of 2012. In 2005, the quartet also released a Grammy-nominated album of works by American composer Daniel McCarthy on the Albany Records label.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of about 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 65 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 41 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and three doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference; WT offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: West Texas A&M University's Harrington String Quartet will perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at The Church at Austin Park, 2525 Wimberly Road in Amarillo. Members are, from left, Brenton Caldwell, viola; Emmanuel Lopez, cello; Dr. Rossitza Goza, violin 1; and Evgeny Zvonnikov, violin 2.

—WT—