Three Bones: Hearing the U.S.
We experience a world of sound thanks to the three smallest bones in our bodies. These three tiny bones in our ears—the malleus (“hammer”), incus (“anvil”), and stapes (“stirrup”)—amplify faint vibrations from the outside world, enabling our minds to transform these signals into the aural landscape we know. The sounds of laughter, arguments, raindrops, thunder, and, of course, music are born from the perfect alignment of these three bones—nature’s own amplifier.
Three Bones is a forthcoming multimedia presentation whose purpose is also to amplify. As we approach 2026 and the 250th anniversary of the United States, Kronos marks the occasion by sharing and celebrating three American stories that deserve to be heard more widely. Realized on stage through music, story telling, vintage recordings, video elements, and visual arts, Three Bones expands on what a concert is through its dynamic narrative structure.
Fifty for the Future
Developed by Kronos Quartet and the Kronos Performing Arts Association, Fifty for the Future is a trailblazing library of 50 commissioned works for string quartet by composers from around the world. Designed as both artistic statements and teaching tools, these pieces reflect 21st-century techniques, styles, and global perspectives. All scores, parts, recordings, and learning materials are available for free online, and the initiative is used by students, educators, and ensembles in over 100 countries. It exemplifies Kronos’ lifelong commitment to education, access, and the continual reinvention of the string quartet repertoire.
Evolving World of Kronos
For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has challenged and reimagined what a string quartet can be. Founded at a time when the form was largely centered on long-established, Western European traditions, Kronos has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the string quartet into a living art form.
In line with Kronos’s ethos of presenting varied and compelling programs, the Quartet will create a tailor-made concert experience for the presenter, drawing from today’s most pressing issues: Responding to War, Civil Rights, & Climate Change.
Glorious Mahalia!
This Kronos Quartet program explores iconic activist voices of America from the 20th century and beyond. Kronos pays homage to the beloved voice of Mahalia Jackson and her vital friendships with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and oral historian/activist Studs Terkel. A daughter of Jim Crow Louisiana and the Great Migration, Jackson was a woman of deep faith, whose key role in historic moments in the fight for civil rights lays the groundwork for two major works on this program — Zachary J. Watkins’s Peace Be Till, featuring the recorded voice of Dr. King’s lawyer and speechwriter Clarence B. Jones, and Stacy Garrop’s Glorious Mahalia, featuring a recorded interview between Jackson and Terkel.