Thursday, January 7th, 2010, at 7:30 PM

JP Concerts presents the Mount Auburn String Quartet with Katherine Winterstein (violin), Charles Dimmick (violin), Stephanie Fong (viola) and Rafael Popper-Keizer (cello), in a program including Three Divertimenti by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), Langsamer Satz by Anton Webern (1883-1945), String Quartet Opus 135 by Ludwig von Beethoven (1712-1773), and String Quartet Opus 27 of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). Entry is free, but donations are always gratefully welcomed.

Violinist Katherine Winterstein enjoys a wide range of musical endeavors, as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, soloist, and teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Eastman School and received her Master's Degree from Boston University's School for the Arts. Praised by critics for "livewire intensity" and for both "delightfully effective" and memorably demonic" playing, she has performed on numerous series, such as Washington DC's Embassy Series, Boston's Ashmont Hill Chamber Music Series, the Staunton Music Festival, and the McIntire Chamber Music Series at the University of Virginia. She is a member of the Mount Auburn String Quartet, and additionally appears regularly with the Craftsbury Chamber Players, Boston-based Chameleon Arts Ensemble and Providence-based Aurea Ensemble. She has appeared as soloist with several orchestras including the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, the Champlain Philharmonic, the Boston Virtuosi, and the Vermont Symphony. Ms. Winterstein is the concertmaster of the Vermont Symphony, the assistant concertmaster of the Portland Symphony, and she performs regularly with the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Baroque. She has served on the performance faculty of Middlebury College in Vermont since 2002.

Praised by the Boston Globe for his "cool clarity of expression", violinist Charles Dimmick enjoys a varied and distinguished career as concertmaster, soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Concertmaster of the Portland Symphony since 2001, Charles has frequently appeared as guest soloist, most recently performing Berg's Violin Concerto. In addition to his leadership role in Portland, Charles is the Concertmaster of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and Assistant Concertmaster of the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Charles began his violin studies at age 5, and his professional life at 15 with the Springfield (OH) Symphony Orchestra. At 19 he became the Assistant Concertmaster of the Dayton Philharmonic. As soloist, Charles has garnered praise, packed houses, and received standing ovations for what the Portland Press Herald has called his "luxurious and stellar performances" and his "technical and artistic virtuosity." Recent concerto engagements have included performances with the PSO, Portland Chamber Orchestra, and BMOP. In addition to his chamber music with the Mount Auburn String Quartet, he performs with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Sebago Long Lake Festival, and Monadnock Music.

Violist Stephanie Fong is a native of Oakland, California where she began her musical studies at the age of seven. She holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory, and Rice University. Her principal teachers include Martha Strongin Katz, Ian Swensen, and Kenneth Goldsmith. In addition to attending numerous festivals including the Aspen Music School and Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Yellow Barn Music School and Festival, and Kneisel Hall, Ms. Fong has performed extensively as a chamber musician with artists such as Gilbert Kalish, Robert Mann, Menahem Pressler, and Donald Weilerstein, among others. Ms. Fong was named a Presser Scholar in 2000 and an award winner at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition with the Kailas String Quartet. She is currently freelancing in the Greater Boston area and performs regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Indian Hill Symphony Orchestra.

Hailed by the New York Times as "imaginative and eloquent"; praised by the Boston Globe for his "dazzling dispatch of every bravura challenge" and his "melodic phrasing of melting tenderness," cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer has established himself definitively as an artist both supremely accomplished and versatile. As one of Boston's most eminent freelance musicians, his career routinely encompasses everything from continuo in 17th-century motets to solo recitals to avant-garde improvisation to indie rock. Mr. Popper-Keizer's formative years were spent at the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser; and at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he performed to great acclaim from Mstislav Rostropovich and Joel Krosnick, and had the opportunity to understudy for Yo-Yo Ma in open rehearsals of Don Quixote with Seiji Ozawa. Mr. Popper-Keizer is the principal cellist of the Boston Philharmonic and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and has made appearances as guest principal with innumerable ensembles throughout New England. He appears regularly as a chamber musician with Emmanuel Music, the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, Winsor Music, Monadnock Music, and the Ibis Camerata, and has enjoyed guest appearances with the Fromm Chamber Players, the Boston Trio, Firebird Ensemble, Walden Chamber Players, Boston Musica Viva, and John Harbison's Token Creek Festival, among others. Labels for which Mr. Popper-Keizer has recorded include Albany, Arsis, Bridge, Capstone, Helicon, Musical Heritage Society, New World Records, Intrada, and Zimbel; he is also the solo cellist on the BOSE demo CD. Upcoming solo releases include Robert Erickson's Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, Yehudi Wyner's De Novo, and Mark Kuss' Concerto for Cello and Orchestra.