In performance: Turtle Island Quartet at 25 At twenty-five, the Turtle Island Quartet exists in a constant state of renewal. Founding members violinist David Balakrishnan and cellist Mark Summer welcome young second violinists and violist who are attracted by the sort of technical and improvisational opportunities the standard classical repertoire doesn't offer. They bring new ideas, new repertoire and amazing skills to the group, stay several years and then move on. The quartet's silver ... Read More

At 25, Turtle Island Quartet turns back to Hendrix Jesse Hamlin, Special to The Chronicle Friday, December 3, 2010 In 1981, violinist David Balakrishnan began composing string quartet music that seamlessly merged the styles he loved: jazz, classical, bluegrass and Indian music. But who could play it? "I was writing for a string quartet that just didn't exist," says Balakrishnan, a UCLA-trained composer who grew up listening to Indian music, played with Stephane Grappelli and David Grisman, ... Read More

Turtle Island Quartet to salute Jimi Hendrix and Charles Darwin on the same album. (Copyright Jay Blakesberg) By Mike Joyce Friday, December 3, 2010 TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET Here's something few groups could pull off: coupling an ingeniously arranged tribute to Jimi Hendrix with an original string ensemble suite honoring the life and work of Charles Darwin. Yes, musically speaking, it helps to be a little bipolar, says Turtle Island Quartet co-founder David Balakrishnan. Of course, being in a ... Read More

by Emily Cary When the Turtle Island Quartet plays, all the preconceived notions about string instruments are abolished and listeners are transported to an uncharted dimension. Two years after a jaw-dropping concert illustrating their "string theory," the virtuoso musicians return to George Mason University Center for the Arts with original pieces inspired by jazz musicians and even a scientist. Their guests, the outstanding jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut and Mike Marshall, the world-renowned ... Read More

11/26/2010 EXCERPT Turtle Island Quartet: Turtle Island Quartet will make a stop on its 25th anniversary tour for a Live at Rose Lehrman performance at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3, in the Rose Lehrman Arts Center on the Harrisburg Campus of HACC. Guest musicians Mike Marshall (mandolin) and Cyrus Chestnut (piano) will accompany the group in a concert featuring a mix of jazz, folk and R&B styles with a flavoring of holiday tunes. David Balakrishnanin started the quartet in 1985 and it has been a ... Read More

Musicians, like other species, mutate and adapt to survive — or, in the case of groups like the pioneering Bay Area–based Turtle Island String Quartet, simply because doing so captivates them and stirs the juices that got them going in the first place. Oh, yeah: Adding some screaming licks based on the most celebrated psychedelic-era musician of all time never hurts, either. This double-Grammy-Award-winning group is now celebrating its 25th anniversary with two San Francisco ... Read More

Grammy-Winning Quartet Relies on Bartlett Microphones A two-time Grammy winner, the Turtle Island Quartet is known for its lush string sound and genre-bending musical innovation. Now celebrating its 25th year as a quartet, this Fall the group has chosen Bartlett miniature instrument microphones for their live-sound reinforcement. Violist Jeremy Kittel says, “The mics are sounding great -- no EQ at all necessary most of the time.” The quartet had previously used microphones that needed a fair ... Read More

Nov 6, 2010 Dancers challenge quartet with ‘Danzón’ DANCE By HOWARD DUKES Tribune Staff Writer The Luna Negra Dance Theater tries to bring an avant-garde feel to art forms that have been viewed as being somewhat old school. Photo provided The Luna Negra Dance Theater performs Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts. ________________________________________ Onstage Luna Negra Dance Theater, Turtle Island Quartet and Paquito D’Rivera ... Read More

State of Mind Albums Turtle Island Quartet - Have You Ever Been...? [Telarc] by Doug Collette October 22, 2010 Turtle Island Quartet - Have You Ever Been...? It's rare for any music lover to discover something like Turtle Island String Quartet's tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Have You Ever Been...? wouldn't seem to work in concept, but in execution it is a sublime pleasure. Epiphanies come early and often on this disc. On the title song, Turtle Island reveals ever so clearly how the inner ... Read More