Antonín Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12, nicknamed the “American Quartet”, was written while the Czech composer was enjoying a bucolic summer in rural Iowa, and it’s full of charming harmonies, soaring melodies, and the propulsive momentum of a country full of hope, optimism, and… well… the American Dream.

However, because we live in 2024 America, and not 1893 America, we thought it was important to introduce some other perspectives. So for these performances, we’re threading works by contemporary American composers in between the movements of Dvořák’s quartet, exploring present-day issues of immigration, police violence, and appropriation – the shadows that enshroud our ‘shining city on a hill.’