Intriguing programs of great beauty and breadth have distinguished the PRISM Quartet as one of America’s foremost chamber ensembles. Two-time winners of the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, PRISM has performed in Carnegie Hall on the Making Music Series, in Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and throughout Latin America under the auspices of the United States Information Agency. PRISM has also been presented to critical acclaim as soloists with orchestras nationwide, including the Detroit Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, performing William Bolcom’s Concerto Grosso, written especially for the Quartet. Champions of new music, PRISM has premiered over 100 works, many by internationally celebrated composers, including Steven Mackey, William Albright, Chen Yi, Lee Hyla, Greg Osby, Jennifer Higdon, Martin Bresnick, Bernard Rands, and Zhou Long. The Quartet also maintains three annual Young Composer Commissioning Awards in Philadelphia, New York, and at the Walden School in New Hampshire, where PRISM conducts regular residencies. In 1997, PRISM initiated its own concert series in Philadelphia and New York City, presenting the newest compositions created for their ensemble by both classical and jazz composers from around the world. The series has featured an eclectic range of guest artists, including Ethel, the Talujon Percussion Quartet, Music From China, Miro Dance Theatre, Cantori New York, pianist Marilyn Nonken, saxophonist Donald Sinta, and many of New York’s most progressive jazz artists, including guitarist Ben Monder, saxophonists Tim Ries and Rick Margitza, and drummers Gerald Cleaver, John Riley, and Mark Ferber. PRISM has also joined forces with the New York Consort of Viols, the Chester String Quartet, Opera Colorado, and the Chilean rock band Inti-Illimani in touring engagements. PRISM has recorded for Koch International, Naxos, New Dynamic, Albany, and Innova. PRISM may also be heard on the soundtrack of the film “Two Plus One,” by Emmy nominee Eugene Martin, scored by Quartet member Matthew Levy, and is featured in the theme music to the weekly PBS news magazine “NOW.” Members of PRISM are Matthew Levy, Timothy McAllister, Zach Shemon, and Taimur Sullivan.
