Sirius Quartet releases Colors of the East, available April 24th, album release party April 30th at Shapeshifter Lab
(Published: April 23, 2015)

"Versatility and flair with lively improvisations... Driving rhythms and aggressive arpeggios were woven around an elusive cello melody in this engaging score."

- The New York Times

"One of the highlights of the festival... each breakout solo seemed as inevitable as it was spontaneous."

- The Wall Street Journal

"For nearly two hours, the group dazzled the packed house with virtuosic, rock-inflected, jazz-grounded, classical-minded polyglot music that was by turns lilting and churning, diaphanous and crushing, placid and rhythmic, soothing and fiery... always compelling and always exhilarating."

- Imperfect Fifths

Sirius Quartet pushes beyond the conventional vocabulary of string instruments with exhilarating repertoire and unequaled improvisational fire. Born and bred in New York City's downtown music scene, Sirius has performed at major venues around the globe, including Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Andy Warhol Museum, LACMA, Stuttgart Theaterhaus Jazz Festival and the Beijing Music Festival.

Having premiered works by the likes of Phil Kline, Uri Caine and Richard Einhorn, Sirius makes significant contributions to the quartet repertoire with bold original works by its own members. Their forward thinking, genre-defying approach-with collaborations in post-rock, avant jazz and electronic music-makes labels like 'New Music' sound passé. These conservatory-trained performer/composers shine with the precision of classical music and a raw energy rarely witnessed in the concert hall.

With their latest album Colors of the East, Sirius Quartet puts forward the explosive, genre-defying compositions of violinist Gregor Huebner on full display. The title track is a piece inspired by Huebner's own Romani heritage, rife with Balkan melodies and odd-metered grooves galore. Colors of the East sees the quartet's ranks bolstered by the addition of accordion virtuoso Peter Stan and upright powerhouse Pascal Niggenkemper. Rounding out the album is Huebner's String Quintet, a labyrinthine trip through the dissonant sound worlds of the classical avant-garde and modern jazz, and his New York Suite for string quartet, a homage to the city that Huebner has called home for the last 20 years; each movement a sonic snapshot of a different NYC neighborhood or locale. These pieces feature Gregor's brother Veit Huebner on bass, and Sirius alumnus Mike Block on cello, respectively.

Come join Sirius Quartet at their official CD release party on Thursday, April 30th at Brooklyn's Shapeshifter Lab. Sharing the bill will be legendary German avant garde guitarist and laptop artist Gunnar Geisse.

Sirius Quartet:

Fung Chern Hwei- violin

Gregor Huebner- violin

Ron Lawrence- viola

Jeremy Harman- cello


Colors of the East Album Release Party
Thursday April 30th, 7pm
ShapeShifter Lab, Brooklyn, NY
www.shapeshifterlab.com

CONTACT: siriusquartet@gmail.com

More Information: http://www.siriusquartet.com

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