The Tesla Quartet will perform in Neumann's Sacred Heart Chapel on Tuesday, October 7, at 5:15 p.m. The concert is free and open to all members of the Neumann community.

The quartet was formed at The Juilliard School in 2008 and quickly established itself as one of the most promising young ensembles in New York, winning Second Prize at the J.C. Arriaga Chamber Music Competition only a few months after its inception. The London Evening Standard called their rendition of the Debussy Quartet “a subtly coloured performance that balanced confidently between intimacy and extraversion.” From 2009 to 2012 the quartet held a fellowship as the Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where they studied with the world-renowned Takács Quartet. In 2012, the group won the Gold Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

The quartet has performed in Austria, Canada, England and France. American appearances include concerts in Chicago, Long Island, Salt Lake City, Lake Tahoe, Tennessee, and Tulsa.

Members of the ensemble are Edwin Kaplan (viola), Michelle Lie (violin), Serafim Smigelskiy (cello), and Ross Snyder (violin). The October 7 concert will include works by Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn.

Community involvement and outreach are integral parts of the Tesla Quartet’s mission, and the group has brought inspiring music to children’s hospitals, soup kitchens, libraries, retirement communities, and schools. Recently the quartet participated in an innovative workshop with laptop performance technology in collaboration with the Boulder Laptop Orchestra.