Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

The Lafayette String Quartet performs the world premiere of a new string quartet by composer and Orion Series in Fine Arts guest artist, Nicola LeFanu. This work was commissioned by LSQ as part of their B.K. Weigel Legacy Project. As a prelude to the performance, LeFanu will discuss her new work, with musical examples played by the quartet. The concert will also include a string quartet by Irish-British composer — LeFanu’s mother — Elizabeth Maconchy DBE.

NICOLA LeFANU has composed nearly one hundred works for a variety of mediums. Her music is published by Edition Peters and by Novello and has been widely played, broadcast and recorded. She has composed eight operas, which have been staged in the UK, Ireland and the USA. She was born in England in 1947 to Irish parents; her mother was the composer Elizabeth Maconchy DBE. LeFanu studied at Oxford, RCM and Harvard. She was Professor of Music at University of York from 1994 to 2008.

Formed in 1986 in Detroit, the LAFAYETTE STRING QUARTET still comprises its four original female members, a distinct and welcome rarity in the classical music world. All members of the LSQ have taught and performed at the UVic School of Music for over 32 years. With more than a dozen albums and a thousand appearances worldwide behind them, the LSQ will retire as an ensemble ¬— 2022/23 marks their final season.