The Grammy-winning Ying Quartet has added Robin Scott, an award-winning musician described as one of America’s rising stars on the classical music stage, as first violinist. Mr Scott joins siblings and founding members David (cello), Janet (violin), and Phillip (viola) Ying, who will open the 38th season of performances hosted by Newtown Friends of Music (NFM) on Sunday, September 27. Pianist Elinor Freer will be joining the ensemble for the 3 pm performance.

The concert will be in the theater of Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.

Now in its second decade as a quartet, Ying Quartet has established itself as an ensemble of high musical qualifications in its tours across the United States and abroad.

The Ying Quartet first came to professional prominence in the early 1990s during their years as resident quartet of Jesup, Iowa, a farm town of 2000 people. Playing before audiences of six to 600 in homes, schools, churches, and banks, the quartet had its first opportunities to enable music and creative endeavor to become an integral part of community life.

The quartet considers its time in Jesup the foundation of its present musical life and goals. The residency, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, was widely chronicled in the national media. Toward the end of the residency, the quartet and several of the townspeople were invited to Capitol Hill to testify before Congress on behalf of the NEA.

In November 2000, Ying Quartet brought NFM’s first School Outreach Program to the music students at Newtown High School. It proved so successful, according to NFN, that other ensembles were invited to continue such school outreach programs at all of Newtown’s schools.

Ying Quartet’s performances regularly take place in many of the world’s most important concert halls, from Carnegie Hall to Sydney Opera House. At the same time, the quartet’s belief that concert music can also be a meaningful part of everyday life has also drawn the foursome to perform in settings as diverse as the workplace, schools, juvenile prisons, and the White House.

In fact, Ying Quartet’s constant quest to explore the creative possibilities of the string quartet has led it to an unusually diverse array of musical projects and interests.

Ying Quartet has also been the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University.

During the summers, Ying Quartet's activity is primarily centered at music festivals. They regularly perform and teach at Bowdoin International Music Festival and also served as ensemble-in-residence at Aspen Music Festival.

Other festival appearances have been at Tanglewood, Ravinia, Caramoor, San Miguel de Allende, Kneisel Hall, Norfolk, Skaneateles, Amelia Island, Interlochen, and many others.

Pianist Elinor Freer will join the quartet. A native of Montana, Ms Freer has built a versatile career as soloist and chamber musician, performing across the United States, Europe, and China. In Europe, Ms Freer has given multiple performances at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and appeared at the Valery Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam.

Career highlights also include recordings for Dutch radio, performances at the International Musicians’ Seminar in Prussia Cove, England, and concerts at Moscow’s Gnessin Institute. She was also one of two American pianists selected to perform throughout China in tours designed to promote cultural relations.

Ms Freer has been a laureate and prizewinner in competitions such as the Joanna Hodges International Competition and the American Pianists Association, and has held piano fellowships at the Steans Institute/Ravinia Festival and Tanglewood Music Center.

She holds degrees with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Southern California, and was awarded a Performer’s Diploma from Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht in the Netherlands. In 2003, she joined the faculty of the Eastman School of Music.

In addition to performing and teaching, Ms Freer has founded and produced a number of initiatives designed to bring classical music to new audiences and has presented a variety of educational and outreach performances across the country in settings ranging from inner city schools to psychiatric hospi-tals.

The program on September 27 will feature Schubert’s “Rosamunde” quartet; a composition by Billy Childs called “Awakening” and, after intermission, the Piano Quintet by Robert Schumann.

An informal reception following the concert will offer concert goers the opportunity to meet and mingle with the musicians.

Tickets are $25, cash or check only. Tickets may be purchased in advance by sending check and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Newtown Friends of Music, PO Box 295, Newtown CT 06470-0295.

The box office at Edmond Town Hall will open at 2 o’clock on the afternoon of the concert.

Students K-12 are admitted free of charge when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. Students with student ID are also admitted free of charge.

Parking is free behind Edmond Town Hall and the facility is handicap accessible.

For information regarding this and other concerts and to print out an order form, visit newtownfriendsofmusic.org. Reservations can also be made by calling 203-426-6470.