The Catalyst Quartet believes that art can thrive in the digital age, and be a continued source of inspiration and innovation. In commemoration of our 10th anniversary we commissioned nine diverse composers and held a national competition focused on promoting new and emerging talent. The submissions were so good that we picked two winners in the spirit of looking ahead. These pieces exist both as stand alone compositions and as a collective, and will be featured as ten individually unique music videos comprising one Video Album— better representing the way most people experience music today. The CQminute collection is also presented in a full length program that celebrates the String Quartet and the journey of our first decade together, featuring the works of Papa Haydn, Terry Riley, Anton Webern, and John Cage.

THE COMPETITION

Two composers and their compositions were selected through national competition to complete the roster and will be featured on our new video album! The winners are Nick Revel and Paul Mekailian.

The pieces

Each work is 1-2 minutes in length and part of a larger narrative that chronicles the first ten years of the Catalyst Quartet. The winning compositions will be the final pieces on the video album, and so we asked that they consider the following directives when writing their piece:

Future. Innovation. Purpose. Optimism.