Harrington String Quartet Announces 2026-2027 Season Celebrating Melody

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

Harrington String Quartet Announces 2026-2027 Season Celebrating Melody

CANYON, Texas - It's melody time for West Texas A&M University's Harrington String Quartet as it prepares for its 2026-2027 season.

The season, dubbed "Melody Unbound," will include three concerts, all slated to take place at The Church at Austin Park, 2525 Wimberly Road in Amarillo.

"We're highlighting composers who are some of the greatest melodists of their time," said Emmanuel Lopez, WT's Periman Distinguished Chair of Cello. "Melody is what defines a composer's character and musical identity. Every composer struggles to solidify their own identity by working out melodies and tunes that may be uniquely theirs."

The quartet also includes Dr. Rossitza Goza, the Don and Dorothy Patterson Professor of Violin; Evgeny Zvonnikov, violin 2; and Dr. Brenton Caldwell, viola.

In addition to performing, each quartet member is on the faculty of WT's School of Music in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities.

The season will open with "Tradition and Innovation" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6, featuring Joseph Haydn's Quartet in C Major, "Emperor"; Paul Hindemith's Quartet No. 7; and Ludwig van Beethoven's Quartet in E-Flat Major, "Harp."

"Haydn, who wrote more than 80 string quartets, was the father of the genre and, in fact, was a teacher of Beethoven's," Lopez said. "Their quartets are connected by wonderful melodies that the audience will love. And though Hindemith writes in the more modern language of the 20th century, the quartet we're featuring is one of his most melodious."

The season will continue at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19 with "Echoes of Song," featuring Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 8 in B-Flat Major and Antonín Dvořák's "Cypresses" for String Quartet.

"'Cypresses' is actually a song cycle in its original form," Lopez said. "Dvořák adapted it to a string quartet that's delightful to play. It pairs well with the Schubert quartet, who brought his long history of songwriting to its composition."

The season will conclude with "Elegance and Passion," a spotlight on two of the repertoire's greatest melodists, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's String Quartet No. 20 in B-Flat Major and Felix Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 5 in E-Flat Major. The concert also will feature Anton Webern's "Langsamer Satz."

"Mozart wrote many operas and songs, with some of the greatest melodies that people still recognize today, and Mendelssohn created a genre called 'song without words' for piano which his string quartets also reflect," Lopez said.

Season tickets are on sale now for $50. Individual concert tickets are $20. Call 806-651-2840.

HSQ was established by a generous gift from the late Sybil B. Harrington to benefit the Panhandle community. From its founding in 1981, the quartet has brought stellar credentials and a refined sense of ensemble and musical integrity to performances across the nation and internationally.

HSQ's collaborative recording with the Phoenix Chorale, "Northern Lights," was distinguished as iTunes's Best Classical Vocal Album of 2012. In 2005, the quartet also released a Grammy-nominated album of works by American composer Daniel McCarthy on the Albany Records label.

About West Texas A&M University

West Texas A&M University is a Regional Research University in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of about 9,000 and offers multiple options for students to graduate and succeed: 65 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 41 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and three doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

Photo: West Texas A&M University's Harrington String Quartet will perform three concerts in its 2026-2027 season. Members are, from left, Dr. Brenton Caldwell, viola; Emmanuel Lopez, cello; Dr. Rossitza Goza, violin; and Dr. Evgeny Zvonnikov, violin.

-WT-