Ithaca College

When Jorge Grossmann, Assistant Professor of Music, was selected winner of a 2007 Aaron Copland Award, he spent three weeks at Aaron Copland’s house in Cortlandt Manor, NY composing an orchestral work. Acknowledging his efforts, the Copland House has now awarded Jorge Grossmann the Borromeo String Quartet Award, which will give him the chance to hear his String Quartet No. 3 performed by the Borromeo String Quartet during upcoming seasons.

Grossmann’s String Quartet No. 3, entitled "Musica Funebre y Nocturna," was written in 2010 and has since been performed by numerous ensembles, including the Amernetand and the JACK Quartets (the latter of which just finished a recording of the piece soon to be released on CD). Grossmann's work was also recently featured on WQXR’s "New Music of the Americas." 

Described by members of the Borromeo String Quartet as “a very rich piece,” String Quartet No. 3 was written in memory of Grossmann’s main teacher and mentor, American composer Lukas Foss, who passed away in 2009.

The Borromeo String Quartet, an ensemble-in-residence at New England Conservatory, is one of the most sought-after string quartets in the world, performing over 100 concerts of classical and contemporary music across three continents every season. This quartet has been heard in the most illustrious concert halls, including Tokyo's Casals Hall, Daiichi Seimei Hall, the Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, and the Opéra national de Paris-Bastille, as well as the Library of Congress, Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Kennedy Center.