A half-century of chamber music memories

Carole Cowan, who founded Newburgh Chamber Music (NCM) in 2001 with her husband, the late Philip West, formed an enduring association with the American String Quartet, lasting as long as the more than five decades that the quartet has been in existence.

   "I first heard the quartet in 1974 as they were performing in Aspen, Colorado, and it has been a great joy to see my friends become such a fantastic and successful ensemble,” said Cowan, NCM’s president. “They have become part of our chamber music family. We have been lucky to occasionally be used as "guinea pigs" for the premiering of new pieces or for trying new ideas."  NCM had the honor of presenting the quartet’s performance of the entire Beethoven String Quartet Cycle of sixteen quartets in Newburgh in the 2013-2014 season.

  According to Laurie Carney, the second violinist, the quartet got to know many NCM members personally, “some of whom have become ‘groupies,’ following them to other venues in New York and Connecticut,” Cowan said.

    The Oct. 18^th concert will be the quartet’s 15^th in Newburgh. It will retire at the end of the season after 52 years. “We will honor and celebrate the ensemble’s dedication, friendship, and contribution to our musical community at this concert,” said Cowan.

Matthias Buchholz (viola), Laurie Carney (violin), Carole Cowan (President, Newburgh Chamber Music), Wolfram Koes­sel (cello), Peter Winograd (violin)