Library to Present a New Side of Classical Music

From Tchaikovsky to Brazilian composer Villa Lobos, The Madison String Quartet will bring an eclectic musical program to the Warren Township Library at 2 p.m. on Saturday (May 14).

This will be the group's first visit to the library with this free program of varied compositions, entitled "From Russia to Rio," said Marcela Dunham, the library's public relations and adult programming coordinator.

"Our mission has been to champion Latin American and Hispanic composers whose music is not heard often in this country," said violinist Evelyn Estava, who founded the group in 1999 with cellist Gerall Hieser. "I thought the best way to introduce this music was by combining it in programs with pieces that are already familiar to the audience—hence the eclectic (performance)."

Estava, a native of Venezuela, now lives in Edison with her husband, violinist/violist Michael Avagliano, who joined the group shortly after it formed. Hieser, of Bernardsville, is a cellist for the quartet and violinist Gabriela Renga, of Queens, N.Y., joined the group in 2008.

The Madison String Quartet has performed internationally and the group as well as its members have received numerous accolades. The  quartet has performed at Carnegie Hall and with several chamber series, including the Friends of Music in Westchester, Mozart and Friends in Princeton, and the Rhinebeck Chamber Series.

When she was 15 years old, Estava joined the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. Later she won the Associate Concertmaster position in the Orquesta Filarmónica Nacional, where she was also the first violinist of that orchestra's string sextet. Estava completed her musical studies at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory in Caracas, and in 2005, as winner of the Artists International Special Presentation Award, she made her debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York.

With a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a master’s degree at Rutgers University, Avagliano has received acclaim as a soloist and chamber musician in the United States and Europe. He has performed with the New Jersey Symphony, the Singapore Symphony and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and frequently performs with several orchestras in the region, including the Westfield Symphony and the Princeton Pro Musica. Having worked with artists ranging from Jaime Laredo and Seiji Ozawa to the Moody Blues and Ray Charles, Avagliano's musical taste includes various musical genres.

Rengel, also a native from Venezuela, began her musical studies at the Federico Villena Music School and received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in violin performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music. As a young solo artist, she  performed with the Queens Philharmonia, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Aragua and the Queens College Symphony. In addition to being part of the Quartet, Rengel has been a member of the Albany Symphony Orchestra since 2005.

Hieser began her musical studies with her mother, also a cellist, in Newport News, Va. She attended the New School of Music, graduated from Temple University and received her master’s degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Hieser has been a member of the Gabriel Piano Quartet for 11 years and has been heard with that ensemble on Maryland Public Radio as well as in concert venues throughout the Northeast. When not performing with the Quartet, she enjoys playing Appalachian fiddle.

Registration, which is required for this program, can be done online at the library's website or by calling 908-754-5554, ext. 64. This program is for children 12 years and older and adults.