On Friday, September 8, Musicians of Ma’alwyck presents The Zoellner String Quartet Project: a special event paired with music highlighting the trailblazing musical ensemble, the Zoellner String Quartet.

This special musical cocktail hour will be held at the historic Albany Armory with excerpts from the full concert, a chance to meet Lady Alexandra Foley and the musicians, as well as appetizers and a cash bar (including the period-themed Whisky Daisy cocktail).

Musicians of Ma’alwyck, which is in residence at SUNY-Schenectady and at the Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, will be joined by guest violinist Fritz Krakowski, who is a member of The Orchestra of St. Lukes and Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, as well as the American Symphony Orchestra: and by violist Katrina Smith, who is co-principal viola of the Dallas Opera Orchestra, principal viola of Glimmerglass Opera and a former member of the Hartford Symphony. Core Musicians of Ma’alwyck member Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, violin and director and Andre Laurent O’Neil, cellist perform as well.

The program features music performed by the Quartet during 1916-17, including works of New Zealand composer Alfred Hill, Dutch composer Jan Brandt-Buys and Italian composer Leone Sinigaglia. A highlight of the performance will be The Two Indian Dances of Charles Skilton, written for and premiered by the Quartet in 1916, which toured the Dances around the United States, including performances in front of Native American tribes in Oklahoma City.

Lady Alexandra Foley has been working in the archives at UCLA, which house the Quartet’s substantial collections of programs, letters, photographs and other ephemera while working on her book narrating the quartet’s history. Her presentation will include images from the archives as well as anecdotes and a wonderful personal perspective through her late mother.

This special event will take place Friday, September 8 from 5:30-7:30 at the Historic Albany Armory, 195 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210.

Tickets are $65 – seating capacity is limited; please reserve your ticket by September 3. To purchase tickets, visit www.musiciansofmaalwyck.org.

Funding for this concert is made possible in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.