Kronos Quartet

836M is happy to announce a new partnership with the Kronos Performing Arts Association for a series of three Creative Labs. At each session, the Kronos Quartet will invite audiences to witness their creative process up close, as they rehearse with special guests, discuss upcoming projects and experiment with new ideas. For their inaugural Creative Lab at 836M on Thursday, April 17 at 7 p.m., the Kronos Quartet has invited Soo Yeon Lyuh.

Lyuh is a master of the haegeum, a traditional Korean bowed instrument with two strings. On Friday, April 25, at SFJAZZ, the Kronos Quartet will premiere a commissioned work by Lyuh, titled Sumbisori, for which the creative lab at 836M offers an intimate sneak peek.

“Sumbisori is a term associated with the haenyeo, the female divers from Jeju Island in South Korea,” said Lyuh. “It refers to the distinctive whistling sound these divers make when exhaling upon surfacing from underwater dives. This sound is part of a unique breathing technique they use to maximize oxygen intake and expel carbon dioxide efficiently after holding their breath underwater for extended periods. The practice allows them to dive repeatedly with minimal surface time, enhancing their efficiency while collecting marine products like sea urchins and abalone. This technique and its characteristic sound are integral to the cultural heritage of the haenyeo, symbolizing their resilience and the physically demanding nature of their work.”

In addition to showcasing a rehearsal for Sumbisori in preparation for its premiere the following week, the Kronos Quartet’s creative lab at 836M will offer the audience an introduction to the haegeum and its history. The evening will conclude with a Q&A.

For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has reimagined what the string quartet experience can be. One of the most celebrated and influential groups of our era, Kronos has given thousands of concerts worldwide, released more than 70 recordings, and collaborated with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers across many genres. Kronos has received more than 40 awards, including three Grammys and the Polar Music, Avery Fisher, and Edison Klassiek Oeuvre Prizes.

Through its nonprofit organization, Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA), Kronos has commissioned more than 1,100 works and arrangements for quartet. KPAA also manages Kronos’ concert tours, local performances, recordings, and education programs, and produces an annual Kronos Festival in San Francisco. In its most ambitious commissioning effort to date, KPAA has recently completed Kronos Fifty for the Future. Through this initiative, Kronos has commissioned—and distributed online for free—50 new works for string quartet designed for students and emerging professionals, written by composers from around the world.