CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -The Pacifica Quartet has added a Grammy Award to its growing collection of musical achievements.
Pacifica, the faculty quartet in residence at the University of Illinois School of Music, picked up the 2009 Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance for its recording of Elliott Carter’s String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5. The announcement was made Feb. 8 at an afternoon ceremony held prior to the televised Grammy Awards program.
Ensemble members are Sibbi Bernhardsson and Simin Ganatra, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello.
The quartet recorded Carter’s quartets, on the Naxos label, in celebration of the composer’s centenary.
Last November, Pacifica was named Ensemble of the Year by Musical America. The annual directory and online site lauded the ensemble as “a model string quartet of the 21st century.”
Just back from a European tour, the Grammy winners will perform next at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 13) at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana. Ticket information is available online.
