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OBU—Oklahoma Baptist University

OBU/OU MacArthur String Quartet Performs

Article Date

November 17, 2005

The MacArthur String Quartet, formerly known as the Red River Quartet, performs Sunday, November 20 at 3 p.m., in Raley Chapel's Yarborough auditorium at Oklahoma Baptist University.



The performance will include Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in G Major, Op.54, no.1; Giacomo Puccini's "Crisantemi"; and Sergei Prokofiev's String Quartet No.2.

"The MacArthur Quartet has proven to be an outstanding group of aspiring young musicians," said Dr. Jim Hansford, OBU professor of music and conductor of the OBU/Shawnee Community Orchestra.

The quartet consists of Wendy Clymer on viola, Stephanie Fresonke on cello, Micah Gangwer on violin, and Ana Maria Wilson on violin, all of whom are graduate students who share a residency at OBU and the University of Oklahoma School of Music. Quartet members also serve as the principal string players in the OBU/Shawnee Community Orchestra.

"Wendy and Stephanie are new members and have joined Micah and Ana Maria in solidifying what I expect to be an accomplished ensemble," said Hansford. "The assistance and expertise they offer as principals in string sectionals and during full orchestra rehearsals is invaluable."

Clymer, a native of Ohio, received her bachelor of arts degree from Brown University and studied viola in the master's degree program at The Juilliard School. She received her master of music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is currently pursuing a doctorate in viola at OU where she serves as a graduate teaching assistant.

Fresonke, from Baton Rouge, La., received her bachelor of arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and her master of music degree at OU. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in music performance at OU.

Gangwer, a native of Ohio, received his bachelor of arts degree from Miami University and is currently pursuing a master of music degree in violin at OU. He has also attended the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and the Salzburg Chamber Institute.

Wilson, a native of Illinois, received her bachelor of arts from Bradley University, her master of music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in Ohio and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at OU. She has also studied at the International Suzuki Academy in Japan and with Elisabeth Zeuthn-Schneider of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Denmark.

Originally funded by a grant from the Kirkpatrick Foundation of Oklahoma City, the MacArthur Quartet is now supported by private sponsors as well, including BancFirst and Shawnee Milling Company.