The members of the Jasper String Quartet, from left to right: Sam Quintal, Rachel Henderson Freivogel, Sae Chonabayashi and J Freivogel.

by Carole Verona

“We were delighted to find out that we will be performing in Pastorius Park,” said Sam Quintal, founding violist of the Jasper String Quartet. “This is a little outside of what we usually do. We play a lot of concerts in chamber music venues for chamber music audiences – which we love to do – but we also want to play for people who want to hear a concert in the park,”

The group will launch the 69th annual free summer concert series on Wednesday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m.

Once again, the Pastorius Park series is being produced by the Chestnut Hill Community Association and is sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Hospital. The Jasper String Quartet performance is sponsored by The Nottingham-Goodman Group, Merrill Lynch.

Although the program wasn’t firmly established at the time of this interview, Quintal said the quartet plans to play selections by Haydn and Debussy as well as something from a commissioned piece called “River,” composed by Aaron Jay Kernis.

“It’s a really neat piece, a meditation on the idea of the constant evolution and changing quality of water,” he added.

They will also play “Valencia,” a composition by Caroline Shaw about the beauty and perfection of an orange. “Valencia” is included on the quartet’s recently released fourth album, “Unbound.” Also included on the CD are compositions by Donnacha Dennehy, Annie Gosfield, Judd Greenstein, Ted Hearne, David Lang, and Missy Mazzoli.

For those who have never heard the Jaspers, Quintal commented on what he thinks makes the group unique.

“We pride ourselves in performing music that is fresh and accessible to listeners.,” he said. “That’s important in a series like the Pastorius Park concerts where there are different kinds of music. Sometimes chamber music has the reputation of being a little stuffy and old-fashioned. While we are respectful of tradition, we want people to be as excited about chamber music as we are and to love it as much as we do.”

Quintal explained that the new CD features a contemporary aesthetic that will help listeners find their footing.

“It feels like a vibrant exploration of what’s happening in chamber music right now,” he said. “Listeners will be able to get inside the music quickly. We invite people to come along on the ride with us.”

The following musicians, all in their mid 30s, make up the Jasper String Quartet:

J. Freivogel, born in Kirkwood, Mo., is the founding and first violinist of the Jasper String Quartet. He received bachelor’s degrees in violin performance and politics at Oberlin College and Conservatory where he won the Kauffman Chamber Music prize three times, the Presser Music Award, the Hurlbutt prize for most outstanding violinist, and the concerto competition. He received a master’s degree in String Quartet Performance from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and an Artist’s Diploma at the Yale School of Music. He is also a core member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO).

His wife, Rachel Henderson Freivogel, who grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., is the founding cellist of the quartet. She completed her undergraduate studies in cello performance at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she also received a master’s degree in historical performance. She received a master’s degree in string quartet from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and an Artist's Diploma in string quartet from Yale School of Music. The Freivogels live in Elkins Park with their children, Leon and Evy.

Sae Chonabayashi, second violinist, was born in Ibaragi, Japan, and completed her studies at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. In 2001, Chonabayashi came to the United States to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music and continued her studies at the New England Conservatory, where she received undergraduate and graduate diplomas. She won third prize in the 2006 Swedish Duo International Competition.

She lives in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia with her husband, Shun, and her son, Hideki.

Sam Quintal, founding violist of the Jasper String Quartet, was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, in a small log cabin with wood heat and no running water. He earned his bachelor’s degree in violin performance from Oberlin Conservatory, his master’s degree in String Quartet from Rice University, and his Artist's Diploma from Yale School of Music. In addition to many prestigious performances and collaborations with his quartet, he has individually performed with exceptional chamber musicians such as the Tokyo String Quartet, Paul Neubauer and Andrés Díaz. He lives in East Falls with his wife, Anna, and daughter, Lena.

Although this is the first time the quartet has performed in the park, they have appeared at various Chestnut Hill venues in the past. In a review, Michael Caruso, the Chestnut Hill Local’s classical music critic, said of the group’s 2014 performance at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Dmitri Shostakovich’s “String Quartet No. 1 in F” major: “The members of the Jasper Quartet projected both Shostakovich’s incredible imagination for thematic and harmonic manipulation and the searing emotional content that lies behind it. Individual lines came to the fore and then receded, as though the tortured souls of the century’s unequaled violence were telling their stories to each other.”

Formed at Oberlin Conservatory, the Jaspers began pursuing a professional career in 2006 while studying with James Dunham, Norman Fischer, and Kenneth Goldsmith as Rice University’s Graduate Quartet-in-Residence. In 2008, the quartet continued its training with the Tokyo String Quartet as Yale University's Graduate Quartet-in-Residence. Winner of the prestigious CMA Cleveland Quartet Award, the quartet is the Professional Quartet in Residence at Temple University's Center for Gifted Young Musicians and the 2017-18 Guest Artist in Residence at Swarthmore College.

They have won many awards including the Grand Prize and the Audience Prize in the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, the Grand Prize at the Coleman Competition, First Prize at Chamber Music Yellow Springs, and the Silver Medal at the 2008 and 2009 Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions. They were also the first ensemble honored with Yale School of Music’s Horatio Parker Memorial Prize.

In 2010, they joined the roster of Astral Artists after winning their national auditions. At home, the quartet works closely with Philadelphia's Astral Artists to bring first-rate chamber music to schools.

They have also performed throughout the United States and in Canada, England, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway and Panama. For more information, visit www.jasperquartet.com or www.facebook.com/jasperstringquartet.

Pastorius Park is two blocks west of Germantown Avenue at the corner of Millman Street and Hartwell Lane. Rain venue is the lower auditorium at SCHA Cherokee Campus. More information about the concert series is at www.chestnuthill.org or call 215-248-8810.