Del Sol began as a thought on the night shift at Fermilab. Charlton Lee had set aside his viola for physics - mostly. Physics suited his constant curiosity. But he missed the way music brings people together. Next experiment: could a string quartet build connections by sharing the energy of exploration?
Thirty-one years later, we are still sharing music that brings out the endorphins. Music that asks “why not?”
Although Del Sol began in New Mexico, the quartet quickly found a home in San Francisco. Our music reflects the city, which has long been a magnet for freethinking artists who welcome a different vantage-point. It’s there in the landscape. Within view of our rehearsal space, the Pacific and North American tectonic plates constantly shift and reposition. We can stand with one foot on each side.
Our music taps into this. Del Sol has commissioned and premiered pieces by our heroes like Ben Johnston, Gabriela Lena Frank, Chinary Ung, and Terry Riley. We remain committed to building community in the Bay Area, including hundreds of outdoor performances in parks and street corners. Our performances take us all over the country, from the Boonville Grange Hall to Brooklyn Academy of Music, Library of Congress, or the Singapore International Arts Festival.
San Francisco’s Del Sol Quartet believes that music can, and should, happen anywhere - screaming out Aeryn Santillan’s Makeshift Memorials from a Mission District sidewalk or a rural high school, bouncing Ben Johnston’s microtonal Americana off the canyon walls of the Yampa River or the hallowed walls of Library of Congress, bringing California immigrant poetry to life inside the Angel Island detention barracks or the Singapore International Arts Festival. Del Sol’s performances provide the possibility for unexpected discovery, sparking dialogue and bringing people together.
https://www.delsolquartet.com/calendar
https://www.delsolquartet.com/