Brooklyn Rider plays Glass, Irish medleys & more

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Venturesome string quartet Brooklyn Rider can be heard everywhere these days: on record, onstage, on the air, and even up in the air. Violinists Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violist Nicholas Cords and cellist Eric Jacobsen were on WNYC's "New Sounds" last month with host John Schaefer. The foursome not only performed music from their new album of Philip Glass quartets; they also played an Irish medley with fiddler Martin Hayes, with whom Brooklyn Rider will be recording next season.

On June 12, Brooklyn Rider appear at the popular Greenwich Village club Le Poisson Rouge with singer-songwriter and violinist Christina Courtin. Summer travelers can hear Brooklyn Rider's recording of "Shur Landing" from Colin Jacobsen's Achille's Heel (off the group's 2010 album Dominant Curve) on Continental Airlines in-flight classics channel throughout this month. And look for Brooklyn Rider in the "40 Artists to Watch" feature in the June issue of Southwest Airlines' Spirit magazine, which also offers a free iTunes download from Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass.

The musicians are gearing up for Minnesota's Stillwater Music Festival, which they founded six years ago. In late August, Brooklyn Rider will present concerts and outreach activities focusing on the intimate world of the string quartet. With Beethoven and Philip Glass as program pillars, they will preview excerpts from a group composition that will have its premiere at Carnegie Hall this fall, and play music ranging in origin from Brazil to Rajasthan.

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