Ithaca College

Guitar performance major Russell Kniffin (’13) will present his senior exhibition, titled “The String Quartets of Karel Husa: An Exhibition of Documents,” at the School of Music’s Karel Husa Gallery in an opening reception next Monday, May 6. 

Located at the third-floor entrance of the James J. Whalen Center for Music, the opening ceremony will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Highlighting the history and significance of Husa’s String Quartets No. 0 – 4, Kniffin will present exhibition of documents in greater detail for reception attendees. 

Karel Husa, a preeminent composers of the twentieth century, was a professor of composition at the Ithaca College School of Music from 1967 to 1986. Within the Whalen Center there are the Karel Husa Archive--the largest repository of his original scores and personal documents in the world--and the Husa Gallery, dedicated to exhibits pertaining to Karel Husa's life and works.

"Husa's five string quartets are all original and inspirational additions to the string quartet literature," Kniffin said in regards to the exhibition. "These fascinating pieces expanded and stretched the musical and technical possibilities of strings to new levels. Composed over four decades, Husa's string quartets offer unique insight into both his life and his development as a composer."

Edited and curated by Mark A. Radice, School of Music professor of Theory, History, and Composition, the exhibit will be on display throughout the summer.

This event is free and open to the public. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact the School of Music at 607-274-3717. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible