Tryon Concert Association will open its 56th season with the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Saturday, October 16, at 8 p.m. at the Tryon Fine Arts Center.

This internationally acclaimed Canadian string quartet, founded in 1989, has received praise for its performances as well as its many activities to promote the education of young musicians and chamber ensembles.

Named for Canadas mighty St. Lawrence River, the group has developed a reputation for its musical imagination and sensitivity as well as its sensational physical abandon and complete lack of emotional inhibition. (Boston Globe)

The groups awards have been many, starting with receipt of first prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1992. They are educators as well as performers, serving as resident instructors at the Juilliard School and the universities of Yale, Toronto, Hartford and Stanford.

The artists include violist Lesley Robertson and violinist Geoff Nuttall, who are founding members of the group; cellist Christopher Constanze, who joined the quartet in 2003 and violinist Scott St. John, who joined in 2006.

Recording on the EMI label, SLSQ CDs include works from the Romantic era as well as 20th century composers. The group received two Grammy nominations in 2003 for its CD of the music of Ozvaldo Golijov (Yiddishbuk) and in 2001 the Juno Award (the Canadian Grammy) for Schumanns First and Third Quartets. SLSQs Tchaikovsky CD has been called the benchmark recording of these works. Recently the group has begun new recordings through a partnership with ArtistShare.com, a musician-controlled group which communicates directly with fans.

This opening concert of the 2010-2011 season on October 16th will include the works of Mozart, Prokofiev and Ravel.

For season ticket information contact Dorothy Wyckoff, 828-859-6065 or write Tryon Concert Association, P.O. Box 32, Tryon, N.C. 28782. Visit the website at TryonConcerts.com.