The Ying Quartet & Xavier Foley

The Ying Quartet will be collaborating with bassist and composer Xavier Foley in Spring 2024. Xavier will be writing a new work to perform together with the Yings that they will pair together with Dvořák's String Quintet in G Major, Op. 77. The commission and collaboration are inspired by the musicians' shared passion for Dvořák and the progressive approach that he demonstrated through his life and music.

The Ying Quartet has always been associated and inspired by Dvořák especially since they followed his footsteps in spending time in the American Midwest. In 1994, through the very first NEA Rural Residency Grant just at the start of their career, the Ying Quartet spent a year embedded within the small farming community of Jessup, IA which is just an hour's drive from Spillville where Dvořák spent an influential summer more than a century prior. Dvořák credits his time in Spillville exploring indigenous and African-American music that influenced much of his music - most notably the "New World" symphony and the "American" quartet.