DUBLIN GUITAR QUARTET

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ABOUT

Described as a "quartet with a difference" by the Irish Times Dublin Guitar Quartet is the first classical guitar quartet entirely devoted to new music. Since its formation at the Dublin Conservatory of Music and Drama, the DGQ has worked to expand the limited repertoire by commissioning new works and adapting contemporary works from outside of the guitar repertoire.

With the help of eight and eleven-string guitars the quartet has created an original catalogue of arrangements by composers such Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Arvo Part and Gyorgy Ligeti. The DGQ's work has brought the attention of some of the world's leading composers. This includes an album release on Philip Glass's Orange Mountain Music label and a new 55-minute commission by Michael Gordon (NY). In April 2015, the quartet performed alongside the Grammy award-winning LA Guitar Quartet, Conspirare and Texas Guitar Quartet in a premiere of How Little You Are for three guitar quartets and choir by Nico Muhly in Austin, Texas. In 2019 DGQ performed their own reduction of this work in a US tour in collaboration with vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. The quartet have also premiered a commission by Chicago-based composer Marc Mellits in Syracuse, NY in March of 2016.

In 2010 the quartet were involved in a special performance of Repentance for cello, guitars and double bass by celebrated Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina. The composer was present as they joined the Russian cellist Ivan Monighetti in a concert in St. Peter's Church, Drogheda. The DGQ's recording of this work was released on the LCMS label in March 2012. In 2008, the quartet was honored to share the stage with legendary American composer Philip Glass in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dundalk. Their recording of these transcriptions reached No.8 on the US iTunes classical charts in 2014.

Other performance highlights include a four-city tour of Columbia and nine tours of North America. The DGQ have also performed at the prestigious chamber music venue, Wigmore Hall in London and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. They have also performed in many of the leading venues in the US including The Philips Collection Washington, Celebrity Series Boston, Subculture, Symphony Space, Yale University, and the Lincoln Centre in New York. In 2019 the quartet performed as one of the jury selected ensembles at Classical Next, Rotterdam. Winter of ’23 saw the group performing at Longwood Gardens, Dartmouth College, Hamilton College and Penn State/Erie. On the group’s summer 2023 tour of North America they performed at Strings Music Festival in Steamboat Springs CO, Clark Art Institute in Williamstown MA, Rite of Summer festival on Governor’s Island NY and for a sold-out/standing room only crowd at Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua NY. Dublin Guitar Quartet returns to the U.S. in October/November ’23 for performances at Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, Wake Forest University, Bucknell University, Adelphi University, the Argyros Center in Ketchum ID and at San Francisco Performances.

The DGQ are developing the electric side of their guitar quartet repertoire with works like Amplified a recent commission for electric guitar quartet by Michael Gordon. This was premiered at the David Lang/Bang on a Can curated festival of new music at the National Concert Hall, Dublin in February 2015. The US premiere took place at four-night residency at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in December 2016.

The Dublin Guitar Quartet is supported by Culture Ireland.