“The Ramones of classical music”. Active 1985 - 1995, with occasional reunions for recording sessions and shows with rock groups (Van Dyke Parks, Jessie Harris, Guided by Voices, and Lambchop). Composer Dave Soldier founded and played violin in this seminal punk chamber group, in 1985. The Soldier String Quartet was inspired by the Concord Quartet and the Beastie Boys, but performed at rock clubs like CBGBs and experimental festivals in Europe using a drummer and electricity. They stood to play and memorized the music, and would stamp around like punk rock and hiphop groups; they occasionally played at Lincoln Center and normal venues for chamber groups. The quartet pioneered the use of amplified instruments and a repertoire that erased boundaries between classical and popular music. Soldier wrote and/or performed traditionally notated pieces that draw upon every possible music style, from serialism to Delta blues. Soldier had an affinity for the polyphony evident in the Haydn and Beethoven quartets. He aimed to highlight the anachronism that stemmed from having a classical ensemble play in contemporary popular idioms, particularly rhythm and blues and punk rock. Soldier found that -- in the hands of players who understood the contrasting styles including violinists Regina Carter and Todd Reynolds -- string instruments could play the blues. He also incorporated a drummer into the quartet. The Soldier String Quartet also premiered and recorded works by other composers, for example: Elliott Sharp, Iannis Xenakis, and Phill Niblock, and worked with jazz musicians including Tony Williams. They were the touring and recording group for the Velvet Underground's John Cale from 1992-1998 often with BJ Cole on steel guitar. Soldier's works for quartet are highly syncopated and contrapuntal with ideas from rock, R&B, and blues as well as the European tradition. They performed arrangements of originally unnotated music, like Delta Blues and Sly Stone, and presented newly composed music by a broad range of composers, premiering over 100 compositions. At the time of Sojourner Truth, the players were Laura Seaton & Dave Soldier on violins, Ron Lawrence viola, Mary Wooten cello, MIchael Suchorsky (from Lou Reed's group) drums, and Kevin Norton on drums. Guesting on the CD are jazz singer and pianist Amina Claudine Myers, downtown vocalist Shelly Hirsch, and several New York City salsa players including Louis Bauza on congas. -allmusic.com