...a meeting of four minds in musical conversation

Quartet-à-Tête  
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Violinist Annie Chalex Boyle 		Violinist Annie Chalex Boyle is internationally recognized as a chamber musician, soloist, and teacher. Most recently, she has performed as first violinist of the Harrington String Quartet, Concertmaster of the Amarillo Symphony, and was on the faculty at West Texas A&M University. With the Harrington String Quartet, Ms. Chalex Boyle has performed internationally in England, France, and Canada, as well as across the United States. A soon to be released CD will feature the complete string quartet works of Daniel McCarthy on the Albany label. Other recent commissions include works by Norman J. Nelson, John Novacek, James Gardner, and Kenji Bunch. A television documentary entitled “A Sound Collaboration-The Harrington String Quartet” was produced by PBS. Recently, the Quartet performed a concert at Carnegie’s Weill Hall with William Preucil and Arthur Rowe. The Quartet has collaborated with a wide range of artists such as David Shifrin, Robert Levin, Arthur Rowe, Pepe Romero and members of the Cavani and Pro Arte String Quartets. Currently, Ms. Chalex Boyle is the violinist of the chamber music group Quartet-à-Tête . She is also a chamber music coach for Midwest Young Artists and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra chamber music program.

Ms. Chalex Boyle has been a finalist in the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition, the recipient of the “American Prize” of the Seventeen Magazine/General Motors Competition, a Prizewinner at the Irving Klein Competition, and Winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. As a soloist, she has performed with the Amarillo Symphony, the Amarillo Virtuosi, the Randel Chamber Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Orchestra, the Harper Symphony Orchestra, and the Northwest Symphony of Chicago. Ms. Chalex Boyle has toured the Far East with the Juilliard Orchestra and performed in Europe with the American Sinfonietta, in addition to playing with the Japan-American Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra.

In the summer, Ms. Chalex Boyle is a frequently requested teacher and has been on the faculties at Midwest Young Artists Chamber Music Program in Chicago, and at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. She has performed at numerous festivals including the Oregon Bach Festival, the Bellingham Festival of Music in Washington, the Festival-Institute at Roundtop in Texas, and the Chamber Music at the Barn in Oklahoma. Additional summers have been spent at the Encore School for Strings in Ohio, the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts, the Meadowmount School of Music in New York, and the Sarasota Music Festival in Florida.

Ms. Chalex Boyle received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California with Robert Lipsett and her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School with Robert Mann. She has also studied with Roland and Almita Vamos at the Music Center of the North Shore in Winnetka, IL. Chamber Music Coaches have included members of the Amadeus, Cleveland, and Juilliard Quartets.

Violist Joanna Mendoza
Praised in New York Stringer Magazine for her “lush, sonorous and assertive tone,” violist Joanna Mendoza is the newly appointed Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. From 1997 to 2007, Ms. Mendoza was the violist of the Harrington String Quartet, principal violist of the Amarillo Symphony and served on the faculty at West Texas A& M University. With the quartet, Ms. Mendoza performed throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe and collaborated with acclaimed artists such as Robert Levin, James Dunham, William Preucil, David Shifrin, Pepe Romero and members of the Cavani and Miro Quartets. The quartet premiered commissions by Kenji Bunch ("String Circle", commissioned for Ms. Mendoza by V.J. Jordan), John Novacek ("Cutaway") and Suzanne Farrin ("Twisting of the Rope," for uilleann bagpipes and string quartet). The Harrington Quartet recording of three commissioned works by Daniel McCarthy was recently released on Albany Records.
Ms. Mendoza has been a guest with the Pro Arte Quartet and the Miami String Quartet, and has collaborated with esteemed artists such as Daniel Blumenthal, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Corey Cerovsek. She has spent summers performing and teaching at festivals nationwide including Interlochen Arts Camp, Chamber Music at the Barn, Mammoth Lakes Music Festival, Madeleine Island Music Camp and Midwest Young Artists. She has given master classes and recitals at Wichita State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Houston and most recently at Renmin University in Beijing, China.
A former principal violist with the New World Symphony, Ms. Mendoza had the opportunity to work with many world-renowned conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Christophe Eschenbach, and Donald Runnicles. She toured South America with the orchestra and performed in the Hamptons and Italy as a chamber musician on behalf of the orchestra. Since then, she has performed at the Quartz Mountain Music Festival, Bellingham Festival of Music, Colorado Music Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival and with Santa Fe Pro Musica.
Originally from Milwaukee, Ms. Mendoza earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Richard Blum and Sally Chisholm. She received  her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School where she studied with William Lincer. Her chamber music coaches have included members of the Amadeus, Juilliard, and Cleveland Quartets.
 
 

Cellist Jeffrey Lastrapes 		Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes is a cellist, chamber musician, recitalist, and teacher. He has appeared throughout the United States, Europe, and South America, with concerts and recitals at The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, Steinway Hall in New York, and numerous others. He has been soloist with the Monroe Symphony Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Midland-Odessa Symphony, the Lower Marion Symphony of Philadelphia, and the Festival Orchestra in Vina del Mar, Chile. Appearances at festivals include the Evian Festival in France, the Bellingham Festival, Sevenars Festival, Mozart on the Square in Philadelphia, The National Cello Congress in Phoenix, Mid-Atlantic Chamber Music Society, Interlochen Center for the Arts, and twice at the Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar at the University of Southern California.

After earning his Bachelor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied under the renowned pedagogue Orlando Cole, he was awarded the Robert Brereton full scholarship to the Juilliard School where he received his Master of Music degree with Harvey Shapiro. He has had master classes with such cellists as Rostropovich, Paul Tortelier, Joel Krosnik, Yo Yo Ma, and Lynn Harrell. In 1991, Mr. Lastrapes represented the United States in the International Competition for Violoncello in Chile and won two of the four major prizes. Other honors and awards include the Lighthouse Award for Outstanding Achievement which included a recital in New York, and first prize at the Birmingham American Society of Arts and Letters Competition.

Positions held include principal cello with the Curtis, Juilliard and Temple University orchestras, the Haddonfield Symphony, New Jersey, and the Midland-Odessa Symphony in Texas. He was also the cellist of the Lindsayan String Quartet for three seasons. Mr. Lastrapes has performed frequently on radio and television including broadcasts over Radio France, Northwave Radio of Japan, National Public Radio, National Television and Radio of Chile, and three live recitals on WFLN of Philadelphia. He has recorded for New World Records and West Virginia University Press. For nine seasons, he served on the Cello and Chamber music faculty of the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Michigan. Currently, he is Assistant Professor or Cello at Oklahoma State University.

Mr. Lastrapes performs on a Rugieri cello dated 1684.


David Palmer, piano
Pianist David Palmer has performed throughout the United States and abroad since the early 1990’s, both as soloist and chamber musician. Palmer has performed with such orchestras as the Wichita Symphony, The American Sinfonietta, The Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra, The Amarillo Symphonies’ Randel Chamber Orchestra, The Amarillo Virtuosi and the Arizona State University Orchestra. He has worked with chamber musicians including each member of Quartet-â-téte in duo and chamber music concerts throughout the United States in such locations as New York City, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago and the Interlochen School for the Arts, to name a few.
 
Palmer, who began his studies at the age of four, won first prize in the Young Artist Division of the Kansas Music Teachers’ Association performing the Lynn Freeman-Olsen Piano Concerto, giving him a television debut on PBS. Consequently, he was invited by the composer to perform at the annual convention of the Music Teachers’ National Association in Seattle, Washington.
 
In addition to his performing career, Palmer is the Executive/ Artistic Director and founder of Chamber Music Amarillo and the Quartz Mountain Music Festival at Lone Wolf. Both organizations excel is providing the finest quality performances from the most talented musicians in the High Plains region, the United States and from abroad.
 
Palmer received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Piano Performance at Rice Universities Shepherd School of Music under Robert Roux. His has also coached with Gary Graffman, Garrick Olssohn, John Perry, Brian Connelly and Robert Mann, among others.