Hemphill Stringtet with Ursula Oppens
The Hemphill Stringtet is a string quartet devoted to performing the music of composer and saxophonist Julius Hemphill, whom The New York Times called “one of the most important musicians of his generation.” The group’s 2025 debut album, The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill (OYOH Records), received wide acclaim: writing in The Wall Street Journal, Larry Blumenfeld praised the ensemble for striking “a gorgeous balance between order and disorder,” and pianist journalist Ethan Iverson called the record “a major event.”
Founded in 2021 by violinist Sam Bardfeld and cellist Tomeka Reid, and originally including violist Stephanie Griffin and violinist Curtis Stewart, the Stringtet has appeared at the Berlin Jazz Festival, NYC Winter Jazzfest, Ann Arbor’s Edgefest, and the Chicago Frequency Festival, among others. The current lineup features Bardfeld and Griffin alongside violinist Josh Henderson and cellist Christopher Hoffman.
For this program, the quartet is joined by Hemphill’s partner, the legendary pianist Ursula Oppens, in an expanded version of One Atmosphere, the piano quintet Hemphill composed for her.
A towering figure in American music, Oppens is celebrated for her original and perceptive interpretations of contemporary repertoire as well as her deep command of the classical canon. No other pianist has commissioned and premiered more new works that have entered the permanent repertoire. She has introduced major pieces by John Adams, Luciano Berio, Anthony Braxton, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, John Harbison, Julius Hemphill, Conlon Nancarrow, Charles Wuorinen, and many others. A five time Grammy nominee — including two nominations for her seminal recordings of Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated! — Oppens has appeared as guest soloist with nearly all of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, and London Philharmonic.
