Rossetti String Quartet - Ensemble-in-Residence

Photo Credit: Christian Steiner

Henry Gronnier, Violin

Sara Parkins , Violin

Thomas Diener, Viola

Eric Gaenslen, Cello

Praised as a “vital force among chamber music ensembles,” the Rossetti String Quartet is renowned for its highly sophisticated, sensual sound and extensive range of colors. The Quartet’s compelling stage presence and fresh, innovative style has won its members a devoted following throughout the United States. National appearances are numerous, and include the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the 92nd St Y, Carnegie Hall, and the Library of Congress. Internationally, the Rossetti String Quartet has performed for audiences in England, France, Germany, Mexico and the Netherlands. Popular guests on the music festival circuit, the Quartet’s festival appearances include Brevard, Caramoor, Mainly Mozart (Mexico), Saint Riquier (France), Vail Valley and Ventura Chamber Music.

Recent Rossetti highlights include performances at the Frick Collection in New York City, at San Francisco Performances, at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, Music at Kohl Mansion, the Music Guild of Los Angeles, and at New York City’s 92nd Street Y with soprano Juliane Banse. They toured last season with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, appearing at the Orange County Center for the Performing Arts, the Wisconsin Union Theater, People’s Symphony in New York and the Community Library Friends of the Arts in Shirley, NY. Active guests on the summer festival circuit, the Rossetti have performed at Festival del Sole in Napa Valley, Spoleto Festival Italy, at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, in Mexico at the San Miguel de Allende Chamber Music Festival, and at Maverick Concerts. In January 2008 the Quartet returned to El Paso Pro Musica for chamber concerts as well as the Spohr Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra with the El Paso Symphony led by Sarah Ioannides.

Other recent appearances include a tour in the Netherlands with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, their Lucerne Festival debut, Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall during its inaugural season, the Casals Festival, and the University Musical Society at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, to name a few. This season the Rossetti appears at Russian River Chamber Music with flutist Eugenia Zukerman, returns to Music Guild of Los Angeles for concerts and outreach, and reunites with Yolanda Kondonassis at Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. They also appear at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, and at San Francisco State University.

Classical music organizations and fellow artists alike have noticed the Rossetti String Quartet’s brilliant artistry, resulting in various collaboration and residencies. Individual artists with whom the quartet has collaborated include Mr. Thibaudet, flutist Paula Robison and guitarist Pepe Romero. In addition to the group’s current residency at the Carlsen Center in Overland Park, Kansas, the Rossetti String Quartet also served as Artists-in-Residence at Caramoor and at the Ventura Chamber Music Festival.

Co-founded in 1996 by violinist Henry Gronnier and violist Thomas Diener, the Rossetti String Quartet is named after 19th century Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, whose artistic ideals about the use of color, poetry, and naturalism are embodied in the Quartet’s musicianship. Each member of the Quartet is an accomplished musical artist in their own right, and the aesthetic depth and insight each brings to the group helps create the intimate, provocative atmosphere that has become the Rossetti trademark.

Violinist Henry Gronnier is a founding member of the Rossetti String Quartet. As a soloist, he has performed worldwide in recital, including at Carnegie’s Weill Hall and at Wigmore Hall in London. He has performed at many of the leading international music festivals as an orchestral soloist and as a collaborator in chamber music ensembles, including Spoleto (Italy and Charleston), at Festival Mediterraneen and Zino Francescatti Festival in France, and in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. He collaborates with talents including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lukas Foss, Chantal Juillet, Ann Queffelec, Pierre Barbizet, Carter Brey and Emmanuel Strosser.

Born in Saint-Quentin, France, Mr. Gronnier began his musical studies at the Conservatoire in Saint-Quentin, where he was awarded a Premier Prix in both violin and piano. He later studied with Madeleine Thuillier-Deverge at the Conservatoire National de Region de Versailles, where he received a Gold Medal. He continued his studies with Michele Auclair at the Conservatoire National in Paris and was awarded a full scholarship to Tulsa University (OK) as a student of the renowned French violinist Nell Gotkovsky. Additional teachers that influenced Mr. Gronnier include Sally Thomas and Zino Francescatti. In addition to his work with the Quartet, Mr. Gronnier is a member of the faculty at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles.

Violinist Sara Parkins is a Grammy-award winner of Best Chamber Music Performance for the complete recordings of the Haydn string quartets with the Angeles Quartet. Sara is also a prizewinner of the Fiscoff National Chamber Music Competition with the Stonybrook Piano Trio. On the forefront of contemporary music, she has collaborated with prominent new music composers and performers such as Anthony Braxton, Mark Dresser, and Gerry Hemmingway, among others.

In addition, Sara performs with the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York City, and is also active as a studio musician in Los Angeles. An international performer, Ms. Parkins has appeared at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Banff Centre, and Strings in the Mountains in Colorado, as well as the Taktlos festival in Zurich, and Festival International de Cadeques in Spain. Along with her recordings on Philips Classics, Sara is featured in recordings on the Victo Avon and Tzadik labels. Sara Parkins attended the Curtis Institute of Music and received her Masters degree from SUNY Stonybrook in New York.

Violist Thomas Diener is a founding member of the Rossetti String Quartet. He has performed internationally in recital, with orchestra and as a collaborator in chamber music ensembles. Music festivals at which he has performed include France’s Festival Mediterranean and Festival de Prades, Norway’s Stavanger Festival and Portugal’s Sintra Festival.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Mr. Diener began his viola studies at age eleven, and went on to win a scholarship to the National Academy of the Arts in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where he studied with Paul Rolland, Guillermo Perich and Gabriel Magyar of the Hungarian Quartet. He continued his studies at Mannes College of Music under the tutelage of Lotte Bamberger and William Lincer. Mr. Diener has participated in master classes with the Emerson, Cleveland, Tokyo, Stradivari, Pro Arte and Vermeer string quartets. A proponent for musical education, he has coached young musicians in chamber music ensembles for The Juilliard School’s High School for the Performing Arts and Pre-College division.

Cellist Eric Gaenslen is also active as a soloist. He has performed nationally and abroad in recital, with orchestras and in chamber music ensembles. Recent highlights include the 2003 world premiere of Siddartha for cello and string orchestra by Laura Canibucci, and a performance of Bloch’s Shelomo at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. Chamber music performances at music festivals include Lincoln Center, Aspen, Evian, Tanglewood, Bowdoin, Banff and Mozart Festival (Vermont). Among the artists with whom Mr. Gaenslen has collaborated are Eugene Istomin, Anton Kuerti and Itzhak Schotten.

Born in San Francisco, California, Mr Gaenslen received his Bachelor of Music degree from Yale University and his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. His teachers include Joel Krosnick, Robert Mann, Aldo Parisot, William Pleeth and Irene Sharp.