CMS - The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

The Jupiter String Quartet, formed in 2001, is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (older sister of Meg), and cellist Daniel McDonough (husband of Meg). Meg and Liz grew up playing string quartets with their two brothers; rehearsals were often raucous, but they grew to love chamber music. Nelson also comes from a musical family–both of his parents are pianists and his twin sisters play clarinet and cello. Daniel, Nelson, and Meg met at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and lacking a violist, Meg suggested her sister Liz, at Oberlin College. The quartet members completed their schooling together at the New England Conservatory of Music. They currently reside in Boston, Massachusetts. The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation; the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four; and musical references emphasize the happiness and strength associated with the Roman god.

The Jupiter Quartet owes much to the influence of the original Cleveland Quartet and the current Takács Quartet, in which all four members form a dynamic and democratic union. While enjoying work with living composers, the quartet feels a strong bond to the core string-quartet literature. In addition to its formal concert schedule, the ensemble places strong emphasis on developing future classical music audiences through outreach work in schools and other educational performances. The quartet believes that chamber music, because of its intensity of interplay and communication, is an effective way of winning new audiences to classical music.

The Jupiter Quartet has received the Avery Fisher Career Grant (2008), the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America (2007), first prize in the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and grand prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. The quartet also won the 2005 Young Concert Artists International Auditions.  The group performs in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and South America. It has played in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, and Kennedy Center, Corcoran Gallery, and Library of Congress, as well as at the festivals of Aspen, Vancouver, Caramoor, the Great Lakes, Honest Brook, and Skaneateles. The ensemble’s 2010-11 season include performances in Cleveland, Chicago, St. Paul, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Tulsa, and Puerto Rico, and at Spivey Hall in Atlanta, Middlebury College, and Adelphi University.  The quartet looks forward to performing its first Beethoven quartet cycle at the Aspen Music Festival next summer.  The Jupiter String Quartet is a former member of Chamber Music Society Two.

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