Indianapolis Quartet to Perform With IWU Faculty
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Indianapolis Quartet, an ensemble of prominent stringed musicians from the University of Indianapolis, will join Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of Piano R. Kent Cook in concert on Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.
Founded in 2016, The Indianapolis Quartet is an ensemble-in-residence at the University of Indianapolis that has performed throughout the Midwest. The ensemble consists of violinists Zachary DePue and Joana Genova, violist Michael Strauss and cellist Austin Huntington.
In addition to to being an accomplished soloist and chamber musician, DePue was one of the youngest concertmasters in the country when he became concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) in 2007. Before joining the Indianapolis Quartet, he also served as a founding member of Time for Three, ISO’s first-ever ensemble-in-residence.
Assistant Professor of Violin and Director of Chamber Music Initiatives at the University of Indianapolis, Genova began her prominent music career after debuting in Bulgaria’s National Competition at the age of twelve. She was concertmaster of the Amsterdam Bach Consort and is currently Artistic Director of Taconic Music in Manchester, Vermont.
Strauss has performed on the viola at concerts, live-radio broadcasts and festivals across Europe, North America, and Asia, both as a solo and a former member of the distinguished Fine Arts Quartet. Strauss was principal violist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for 20 years and has served as a faculty member at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and Swarthmore College.
One of the youngest principal musicians in a major American orchestra, Huntington made his solo orchestral debut at the age of 10, and at age 20, he was appointed principal cello of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Huntington has received awards on both the national and international levels, including first place at the 2012 Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition and the 2009 MTNA National String Competition.
The Indianapolis Quartet will be joined by IWU Professor of Piano R. Kent Cook, whose career has taken him to performance venues across the United States and Europe. Cook has recently appeared on Guest Artists Series at several universities and has performed as a soloist at the Kindred Arts Concert Series in Manteca, California and the Atlantic Music Center in Orlando, Florida.
By Rachel McCarthy ’21