Performers
Location
About
EVENT SPONSORS
- Season Sponsor: Available
- Series Sponsor: Available
- Concert Sponsor: Available
- Artist Sponsor: Available
- Lecture Series Sponsor: SINFONIA SALT LAKE
- Garden Sponsor: CACTUS & TROPICALS
- Post-Concert Reception Sponsor: DÉLICE BAKERY & CAFÉ
- Print Sponsor: SUN PRINT SOLUTIONS
The acclaimed JUPITER STRING QUARTET returns to our 61st season on Thursday, November 19, 2026, at Libby Gardner Concert Hall on the University of Utah campus. "An ensemble of eloquent intensity...one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene" (The New Yorker).
Estimated duration: 1 hour and 55 minutes
Program
- Franz Schubert – String Quartet No.13 in A minor, D.804, "Rosamunde" — 35 min
- Clarice Assad – Canções da América — 16 min
- Intermission — 15 min
- Juri Seo – Respiri in memoriam Jonathan Harvey — 8 min
- Johannes Brahms – String Quartet No.2 in A minor, Op.51, No.2 — 33 min
All timings are approximate. Program and artists subject to change.
Free Pre-Concert Talk at 6:30 p.m. before the performance.
Featured Performers
- JUPITER STRING QUARTET
- Mélanie Clapiès, violin
- Meg Freivogel, violin
- Liz Freivogel, viola
- Daniel McDonough, cello
The Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). Founded in 2001, this tight-knit ensemble is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music, and exudes an energy that is at once friendly, knowledgeable, and adventurous.
The quartet has performed across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Americas in halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Jordan Hall, Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. Major festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, the Banff Centre, Virginia Arts Festival, Music at Menlo, Maverick Concerts, Caramoor, Lanaudiere Festival, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, Skaneateles Festival, Madeline Island Music Festival, Yellow Barn Festival, Encore Chamber Music Festival, the inaugural Chamber Music Athens, and the Seoul Spring Festival.
Their chamber music honors and awards include the grand prizes in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2004. In 2005 they won the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City. They received the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America in 2007 and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008. From 2007–2010 they were in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two. In 2009 they received a grant from the Fromm Foundation to commission a new quartet from Dan Visconti for a CMSLC performance at Alice Tully Hall. In 2012 the members were appointed as artists-in-residence and faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where they perform at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, maintain private studios, and direct the chamber music program.
Committed to new music, they have commissioned string quartets from Nathan Shields, Stephen Andrew Taylor, Michi Wiancko, Syd Hodkinson, Hannah Lash, Dan Visconti, and Kati Agócs; a quintet with baritone voice by Mark Adamo; and a piano quintet by Pierre Jalbert. They are also part of a commission for chamber choir and string quartet, with music by Su Lian Tan and words by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
The Jupiters emphasize educational performances in schools and community centers and have held masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, Eastman School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, Encore Chamber Festival, Madeline Island Music Festival, and Peabody Conservatory.
Their latest album is a collaboration with the Jasper String Quartet (Marquis Classics, 2021), produced by Judith Sherman. The album features the world premiere recording of Dan Visconti’s Eternal Breath, Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat, Op. 20, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round. The quartet’s discography also includes recordings on Azica Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In fall 2024 the Jupiter Quartet recorded their next album with Judith Sherman, featuring world premiere recordings of works by Michi Wiancko, Stephen Taylor, and Kati Agócs composed for the Jupiters.
Recent and upcoming highlights include residencies at Taos School of Music Summer Festival, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the University of Idaho, as well as performances presented by the Library of Congress, Bay Chamber Concerts, Calgary Pro Musica, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and many more. As artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, they also perform a series of concerts at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Early exposure to chamber music brought these four musicians together. Meg and Liz grew up playing string quartets with their two brothers and came to love chamber music during weekly coachings with cellist Oliver Edel. Nelson’s parents are pianists and his twin sisters are musicians. Daniel originally wanted to be a violinist but chose the cello and is happy with that path.
The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation and the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four. They are proud to list among their accomplishments the addition of seven quartet children: Pablo, Lillian, Clara, Dominic, Felix, Oliver, and Joelle, who may appear in the audience or at rehearsals.