Following a Noveller set in D.C. back in the Summer of 2010, Jonathan Matis, the founder and electric guitarist for the D.C.-based Low End String Quartet introduced himself and asked me if I had any interest in composing music for ensembles.  It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.   Luckily Jonathan and I kept in touch after our initial meeting, and last year the Low End String Quartet officially commissioned me to write a piece for their group to debut in 2012.

The Low End String Quartet’s alternative instrumentation features electric guitar, electric violin, amplified cello, and electric upright bass, so I was able to incorporate elements of my signature guitar sound while at the same time reaching beyond my usual compositional restraints and letting ideas for string parts run wild.  The result of many months of writing, listening, and recording, is my first quartet piece, “Into the Midnight Sun”.

The Low End String Quartet premieres “Into the Midnight Sun,” as well as a new commissioned work by cellist Zoe Keating, on April 14th at the Center Stage at the Reston Community Center in Reston, VA.  In addition to the premiere of these two new exciting pieces, both myself and Zoe Keating will perform solo sets.  Tickets are available for purchase here.