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Ralph Farris

Birth Place: Boston

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Ralph Farris BIO

Multi-instrumentalist, composer-arranger, producer and conductor, Ralph Farris is a connecting force on the frontlines of new music. An award-winning graduate of The Juilliard School, and 3-time Tanglewood Fellow, Ralph is a founding member and Artistic Director of the genre-bending string quartet ETHEL. The onetime Music Director and Solo Fiddle of the Roger Daltrey Band, Ralph was an original company member of Disney's "The Lion King" on Broadway. He has performed in concert with such luminaries as Paul Simon, Pete Townsend, Leonard Bernstein, Alice Cooper, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road project, Sinead O’Conner, Joe Jackson and Lou Reed.  His composition commissions include the Jerome Foundation; dance evangelists Monkeyhouse; Las Vegas darlings Jarrett & Raja; Walnut Hill School for the Arts; and the NEA. His scoring credits include Noelle Brower's “Everything is Ordinary;” Anika Burt's "Begin Again;" and Jehane Noujaim's "Pangea Day" industrial, and Aquila Theatre's "A Female Philoctetes." 

Ralph Farris Productions

 
[Broadway, 1997]
Violin/Viola

Ralph Farris Videos

Ralph Farris News


Grammy Award-Winning ETHEL to Headline the Hermitage's 15th Annual Artful Lobster


The Hermitage Artist Retreat announced that world-renowned and Grammy Award-winning string quartet ETHEL will headline the Hermitage’s signature fall fundraising event, “The Artful Lobster: An Outdoor Celebration!” on Saturday, November 11th from 11:30am to 2pm at the Hermitage campus on Manasota Key.

Grammy-Award Winning ETHEL String Quartet to Bring Spirited Strings To Morris Museum in July


In their first Back Deck appearance since 2021, the string quartet ETHEL will bring their particular brand of contemporary music to Morris Museum on July 18.

ETHEL Comes to GatherNYC (Museum of Arts & Design)


GatherNYC, the revolutionary weekly concert experience founded and directed by cellist Laura Metcalf and guitarist Rupert Boyd, announces the groundbreaking string quartet ETHEL as the second guest artist of its Spring 2022 season, held at the series’ new home at Museum of Arts and Design (MAD).

Savant Records Reissues Jim Snidero's Acclaimed 'Strings'


Snidero took the opportunity to enhance the 2001 tracks in spots, adding the masterful bowed bass of David Finck.

ETHEL's Fifth Round Of HomeBaked Composer Initiative Calls For Scores


ETHEL invites early-career music creators to submit their scores for Round V of ETHEL's HomeBaked commissioning initiative. This iteration of HomeBaked calls for works for flute and string quartet, as ETHEL will partner in collaboration with their longtime friend, flutist, composer, and producer Allison Loggins-Hull.

BWW CD Review: THANKFUL: A BENEFIT ALBUM FOR JERAD BORTZ Provides Broadway Inspiration


BWW Review: THANKFUL: A BENEFIT ALBUM FOR JERAD BORTZ Provides Broadway inspiration on Rock-It Science Records

The Next Festival of Emerging Artists Launches 'Next Fest Connects'


 Faced with the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, the unique contemporary music festival founded in 2013 by composer, conductor, and bassist Peter Askim, acted quickly to address the needs of musicians by forming a new component: Next Fest Connects. 

Henning Rubsam Announces The New SENSEDANCE SUNDAYS


After the overwhelming feedback Henning Rübsam received upon releasing his 2015 work 'And there was Morning' online via his YouTube channel DanceArtJoy this past Sunday,  he decided to make one archival work of his company SENSEDANCE public for free on every Sunday during the current crisis.

Lakewood Cultural Center Presents ETHEL's Documerica


a?oeETHEL's Documerica,a?? presented by the Lakewood Cultural Center at 7:30 p.m. on March 13, is a multimedia concert that melds multiple-screen video projections with original music by some of today's top composers, performed with electrifying virtuosity by the indie-classical quartet ETHEL. The projections showcase evocative imagery from a?oeProject Documerica,a?? a massive archive of photographs commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency in the 1970s, soon after the agency was established in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution. Through new music, ETHEL explores this compelling snapshot of a tumultuous era that powerfully connects to today's environmental and social issues.

National Sawdust Has Released December Schedule


2019-20 Artists-in-Residence Kinds of Kings present Real Loud, the first of four concerts in their Equilibrium and Disturbance series String quartet ETHEL presents fourth chapter of their HomeBaked Project, an initiative showcasing emerging composers, Canadian Brass presents 50th anniversary of their annual holiday celebration

THE RIVER Will Come to the WYO Theater


The WYO Theater welcomes New York based contemporary string quartet ETHEL and award-winning Native American artist Robert Mirabal to the stage Friday, November 22 at 7:30pm when they present their inspired collaboration, The River.

The Jewish Museum And Bang On A Can Present Julia Wolfe's String Quartets Performed By ETHEL


Bang on a Can and the Jewish Museum's 2018-2019 concert season, pairing innovative music with the Museum's exhibitions and showcasing leading female performers and composers, continues today, February 28, 2019 at 7:30pm. The acclaimed string quartet ETHEL performs the complete string quartets of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe: Dig Deep, Early that Summer, Four Marys, and Blue Dress. This is the first performance of all of Wolfe's string quartets at one time, on one stage.

Laurence Hobgood To Release New Album 't e s s e t e r r a'


Grammy-winner and world-renowned pianist/composer/arranger Laurence Hobgood will release his new album  t e s s e t e r r a  on April 26th, 2019. 

Bang on a Can, The Jewish Museum Present Julia Wolfe's String Quartets Performed by ETHEL


Bang on a Can and the Jewish Museum's 2018-2019 concert season, pairing innovative music with the Museum's exhibitions and showcasing leading female performers and composers, continues on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 7:30pm. The acclaimed string quartet ETHEL performs the complete string quartets of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe: Dig Deep, Early that Summer, Four Marys, and Blue Dress. This is the first performance of all of Wolfe's string quartets at one time, on one stage.  

The Jewish Museum And Bang On A Can Present Julia Wolfe's String Quartets Performed By ETHEL


Bang on a Can and the Jewish Museum's 2018-2019 concert season, pairing innovative music with the Museum's exhibitions and showcasing leading female performers and composers, continues on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 7:30pm. The acclaimed string quartet ETHEL performs the complete string quartets of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe: Dig Deep, Early that Summer, Four Marys, and Blue Dress. This is the first performance of all of Wolfe's string quartets at one time, on one stage.

BWW Review: ETHEL Captures the Spirit of Circus Through Soaring Strings at BAM Harvey Theater


ETHEL is comprised of Ralph Farris (viola), Kip Jones (violin), Dorothy Lawson (cello) and Corin Lee (violin) but when they come together their strings of a feather breathe as one. Perhaps two decades together has birthed such camaraderie, consistency and maturity with a good dash of daring and rebellious nature present in any typical twenty year old. Their sense of playfulness (with each other and the audience) is alive and well, but only becomes profound when teamed with their remarkable discipline and skill. Much like the circus artists -- they merely make it look easy when it is anything but.

String Quartet ETHEL Celebrates 20th Anniversary Season


String quartet ETHEL, known for its enlivened playing and consistently groundbreaking redefinition of concert music, announces their landmark 20th anniversary season. Described as “an adventurous quartet with a rock band's zest” by The New York Times and deemed “a genre unto itself” by the Village Voice, ETHEL continues to set the standard for contemporary concert music. Celebrations begin with a June 20th benefit gala hosted by New Sound's John Schaefer, honoring ETHEL as well as fellow new music champions: Bang on a Can founders Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. ETHEL's 2018-19 season offers the New York premiere of Circus: Wandering City at the 2018 BAM Next Wave Festival, along with continued touring of the group's signature works: The River and Documerica. (Please scroll below for more details and complete 2018-19 schedule of events.)

String Quartet ETHEL Celebrates 20th Anniversary Season


String quartet ETHEL, known for its enlivened playing and consistently groundbreaking redefinition of concert music, announces their landmark 20th anniversary season. Described as "an adventurous quartet with a rock band's zest" by The New York Times and deemed "a genre unto itself" by the Village Voice, ETHEL continues to set the standard for contemporary concert music. Celebrations begin with a June 20th benefit gala hosted by New Sound's John Schaefer, honoring ETHEL as well as fellow new music champions: Bang on a Can founders Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. ETHEL's 2018-19 season offers the New York premiere of Circus: Wandering City at the 2018 BAM Next Wave Festival, along with continued touring of the group's signature works: The River and Documerica. (Please scroll below for more details and complete 2018-19 schedule of events.)

Molissa Fenley And Company Presents THEIR MARK, An Evening Of New Dance And New Music


Molissa Fenley and Company, in collaboration with percussionist Frank Cassara and violist Ralph Farris, will present an evening of dance and live music, with scores by four contemporary composers. The program features four dances from Fenley's Water Table, three of which are New York premieres. The program also includes a new configuration of Fenley's 1979 work Mix. Performances are June 21–23 (Thursday–Saturday) at 8pm, at Danspace Project, 131 East 10th Street, New York, NY 10003.

YoungArts to Honor MOONLIGHT's Tarell Alvin McCraney with 2018 Alumni Award


On Today, January 13, 2018, the National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) will honor Tarell Alvin McCraney - Academy Award-winning playwright, 1999 YoungArts Winner in Theater and YoungArts master teacher - with the 2018 Arison Alumni Award at the organization's annual Backyard Ball on the YoungArts Campus (2100 Biscayne Boulevard).

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