Friction Quartet, recipient of the 2012 Berkeley Piano Club Emerging Artist Award, has established a reputation for edgy programming and exhilarating performance. Ever since Friction Quartet’s performance at the 2012 Hot Air Music Festival, where Examiner.com’s Stephen Smoliar hailed the quartet’s performance of John Adams’ String Quartet as “with energetic gusto” and with “no shortage of wit,” Friction has been inundated with requests from composers throughout California to perform their new works for the string quartet medium. Through artistic collaboration in varied mediums, the commissioning of new works, crossing into genres outside of classical music, adding movement to performances, and incorporating mixed medias, Friction Quartet creates a progressive and inviting concert atmosphere that attracts audiences of all ages and interests.
Friction Quartet’s residency at the Culver Center of the Arts includes an exciting public master class where UCR student composer works will be read and workshopped. Not only are these sessions an invaluable resource for student composers, but also offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process for general audiences. Here, new playing techniques are tested, phrasing and dynamics evaluated, and interactive electronics, a hallmark of the UCR Music Department’s digital composition program, are fine-tuned. In this environment, the group will have a direct dialogue with composers that transcend the printed notes on the page.
More info: http://www.frictionquartet.com
Biddy Connor: viola, voice, music saw, live effects and loops Judith Hamann: cello 
Described by the eminent Sergio Assad as “the most inventive and exciting young guitar ensemble today”, Mobius Trio has made it its mission to fully integrate the classical guitar into the 21st century’s nascent musical lexicon. The Trio exclusively performs music that they have commissioned; they seek to expand the guitar ensemble’s repertoire to encompass all of the myriad currents passing through contemporary art music. Mobius Trio has commissioned over a dozen composers in their first two years of existence, and that pace isn’t slowing. 
New music pianist, Regina Schaffer, is the founder of the performance collective New Keys; newfangled music for piano, which is celebrating their 10 year anniversary in 2014. She received her Bachelor’s of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Master’s in Piano Performance and Literature from Mills College where she was able to focus on new and experimental music. At Mills College, Regina studied contemporary performance practice with avant-garde percussion legend William Winant and performed with his ensemble on keyboards. Regina is currently performing both with New Keys and as duo partner with Sarah Cahill. Additional information is available at www.reginaschaffer.com and www.newkeysconcert.org.