{"product_id":"julius-hemphill-stringtet-continuum","title":"The Hemphill Stringtet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eThis coming May the 28th, LOOVE Annex is delighted to welcome \u003cstrong\u003eTHE HEMPHILL STRINGTET\u003c\/strong\u003e -- \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003ea collective string quartet devoted to performing the music of African  American composer and saxophonist Julius Hemphill (1938-1995).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eThe quartet aims to bring greater attention to Hemphill’s compositions and highlight his role as  a major Black American composer of the late twentieth century. In his obituary, The New York  Times called him “one of the most important musicians of his generation.” Additionally, the  group aims to expand the role of improvisation, particularly from the African American  tradition, in the string quartet instrumentation. The group is notably inspired by some of the  polyphony and group improvisation practiced by the World Saxophone Quartet (of which  Hemphill was a member).  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eFeaturing:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eCurtis Stewart - violin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eSam Bardfeld - violin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eStephanie Griffin - viola\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eTomeka Reid - cello\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e“The quartet’s origin was a little serendipitous”, Bardfeld says, “I ran into \u003cstrong\u003eMarty Ehrlich\u003c\/strong\u003e at a gig in Brooklyn and he told me that he had just published the \u003cstrong\u003eWorld Saxophone Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e music in an edition for strings and suggested I play them. I touched base with Tomeka — she and I were both huge Hemphill fans already — who said \u003cstrong\u003ePeter Margasak\u003c\/strong\u003e had just asked her to put together a group to play Mingus Gold at Chicago’s 2022 Frequency Festival. We agreed to ask Curtis and Stephanie to join us. Besides being great improvisers, each co-leads a string quartet that deals extensively with contemporary classical music — Curtis with the \u003cstrong\u003ePubliq Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e and Stephanie with the \u003cstrong\u003eMomenta Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e. We all enjoyed playing together and playing this music so we kept going.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eReid added, “For me this is the ideal context in which to engage with traditional string quartet instrumentation, by way of the compositions of amazing jazz and creative music artists like \u003cstrong\u003eJulius Hemphill\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cstrong\u003eSam Bardfeld\u003c\/strong\u003e had also learned of these pieces and we decided to ask Curtis and Stephanie to join us as they are both stellar improvisors. We also added some of the \u003cstrong\u003eWorld Saxophone Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e pieces to the mix that we enjoyed playing to round out the program.” - Burning Ambulance\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ctime class=\"event-date\" datetime=\"2026-05-28\"\u003eThursday, May 28, 2026\u003c\/time\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"event-time-localized\"\u003e\u003ctime class=\"event-time-localized-start\" datetime=\"2026-05-28\"\u003e8:00 PM\u003c\/time\u003e -\u003cspan class=\"event-datetime-divider\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e \u003ctime class=\"event-time-localized-end\" datetime=\"2026-05-28\"\u003e9:00 PM\u003c\/time\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"loove labs","offers":[{"title":"General Admission","offer_id":53286162497843,"sku":"2725398","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"student \/ senior","offer_id":53286162530611,"sku":"2725399","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Supporter","offer_id":53286162563379,"sku":"2725400","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0703\/8032\/3123\/files\/hemphill_0529_sq_1.jpg?v=1777759715","url":"https:\/\/theloove.com\/products\/julius-hemphill-stringtet-continuum","provider":"loove labs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}