The Cypress String Quartet - Cecily Ward & Tom Stone, violins; Ethan Filner, viola; Jennifer Kloetzel, cello - has performed to great acclaim worldwide. Praised by the Los Angeles Times for its "musical astuteness and virtuoso resources," the Quartet has been featured in Chamber Music Magazine as a "Generation X Ensemble to Watch" and has made regular appearances on National Public Radio's "Performance Today." Since its inception in 1996, the ensemble has toured extensively, including concerts in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, London, and Tokyo. Now in its seventh year, the Quartet continues to offer performances as varied, exciting and innovative as they are carefully crafted and critically acclaimed. --"The Cypress made a deep and pure connection to the music in playing of unfailing grace. Alert, disciplined, open to both awe and joy they played with respectful, unabashed love for Haydn." Albuquerque Journal, NM The Cypress String Quartet honors the great quartets of the past by emulating the idealism, integrity and humanity with which they approached music - in rehearsal, in performance, in life. --"They discuss every single aspect of the music, from historical context to what is on the printed page...This is how they make the string quartet repertoire totally their own, and why even the most familiar music sounds freshly discovered, exciting and challenging." Ellen Hughes, PA The Cypress String Quartet believes in the value of music education over music exposure. In the 2002-2003 season the Quartet will join with over twenty-five outreach partners throughout the Bay Area to bring its innovative Call & Response Series into the schools, integrating performance, outreach and the commission of new works. Working in concert with its education partners, the Quartet reaches every student in a lasting way. --"The Cypress delivered the piece with expression, nuance and style, pinpointing every aspect of balance and joint phrasing to perfection in its rendering of an enduring new work." Tucson Citizen Review, AZ The Quartet has presented educational programming in conjunction with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, and has served as faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Summer Music Clinic, the Las Vegas Music Festival, and the Centrum Summer Chamber Music Festival. The Quartet is Visitng Quartet in Residence at the MERIT School of Music in Chicago and at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. The Cypress String Quartet's reputation is well established among chamber music enthusiasts around the world. They have participated in public seminars with Isaac Stern in San Francisco, the Amadeus Quartet in London and the Juilliard Quartet in New York. The Quartet has been in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, and has held fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival Center for Advanced Quartet Studies and at the Summit Institute for Arts and Humanities. The ensemble has worked closely with cellist Bonnie Hampton, and with members of the Cleveland, Orion, Emerson, Mendelssohn, and Muir Quartets. --"Cypress members seemed convinced of what they wanted and determined to go out on a limb to get it. If truly representative of the next generation of musicians, we have a lot to look forward to." The Patriot News, Harrisburg PA The Cypress String Quartet resides in San Francisco, California.