Spektral Quartet

2016: Celebrating a Big Year

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This was a wild ride of a year. I shot tons of fabulous music. Philip Glass signed my photo of Philip Glass playing Philip Glass.  I covered Kurt Elling in the studio and created his latest batch of publicity portraits. Spektral Quartet's album "Serious Business," which includes my cover photo, was nominated for a Grammy. I sat next to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for 15 seconds. I gazed at the Milky Way from the tiny island of Islesford, Maine. And right in the middle of it all, I presented my jazz photography portfolio at the American Embassy in Vienna, Austria.  Thanks to all of you for being a part of a wonderful 2016! Enjoy this gallery of a few of my favorites. 

Spektral Quartet: Serious Business Album Release Party

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Congratulations to the Spektral Quartet on throwing one helluva party to celebrate the release of Serious Business! Not every day do I walk into a job to see my photo blown up on the big screen. And it's not just any quartet that can make the audience sit on whoopie cushions in unison. I was honored to be a part of this project, and I cannot recommend this album enough.  Brilliantly recorded and performed, the music explores the concept of humor in classical (whatever that means) music.  Mayne Stage, Chicago, 1.29.16. 

All photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved.  

Serious Business with Spektral Quartet

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I've followed the Spektral Quartet since I first saw them at the Empty Bottle in 2011 (a string quartet in a punk bar??). I was hooked. I wrote about them. I saw them perform a bunch of times. I came to photograph them in concert. But this is the coolest.  SQ's newest album, "Serious Business," features my cover photo. This is the quartet's fourth album, the first to feature their image, and my second album cover.  "Serious Business" is a disc of new and commissioned work (plus one very old joke) that explores the theme of humor in music. Since the days of "Abbey Road," quartets have been photographed walking to - who knows where? We tried the same thing, but Doyle kept falling. The album is due out in late January 2016, and you can catch the release concerts in Chicago on January 29 and 31.  

Photos © Copyright 2015 by Elliot Mandel. All rights reserved. 

Chamber music and whiskey shots: a recap of June

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June was filled with music.  So. Much. Music.  Spektral Quartet rocked The Hideout so hard, the boys needed whiskey shots.  Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago closed out its season with French art songs performed by Juliet Petrus and Matthew Gemmill at PianoForte Foundation.  Some highlights from the Rush Hour Concerts season include the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia performed by violinist Liba Schacht and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's principal cellist John Sharp, and a beautiful concert by the trio of John Macfarlane, Brant Taylor, and Winston Choi.  Alice Teyssier and the International Contemporary Ensemble blew away a packed Constellation with Daniel Dehaan's "Trompe l'Corps."  And soprano J'nai Bridges hit some serious high notes during Make Music Chicago.  Click through the gallery below for a selection. 

Spektral Quartet plays new ringtones

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Forget the canned default music programmed on your phone.  Spektral Quartet has launched a brilliant project that brings new, fresh music to your device - and everywhere else you go.  The quartet commissioned more than 40 composers across the country to write ringtones, alerts, and alarms.  The result is Mobile Miniatures - dozens of tiny masterpieces for your phone.  On Saturday, the Spektrals gave a ringtone party at Constellation, including the premiere performance of several pieces, curated listening stations on phones from olden days, and two ringtones composed live that night.  I was thrilled to photograph the event and to walk among so many accomplished artists.  Check out a few of my shots below, then go download some new ringtones!

Spektral Quartet plays a brand new ringtone.

Spektral Quartet plays a brand new ringtone.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Shulamit Ran listens to the big red lips phone.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Shulamit Ran listens to the big red lips phone.

Go get ringtones!

Go get ringtones!

Ye olde talking device from olden times. 

Ye olde talking device from olden times. 

Composer Marcos Balter does his thing. 

Composer Marcos Balter does his thing.