July 2 & 5: The Jupiter String Quartet is a Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at Taos School of Music Chamber Music Festival
Photo of the Jupiter Quartet by Todd Rosenberg available in high resolution at www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/jupiter-string
The Jupiter String Quartet is a Faculty Quartet-in-Residence
at Taos School of Music Chamber Music Festival
June 29-July 12, 2026
July 2: Free Faculty Quartet Seminar
July 5: Faculty Performance
“an ensemble of eloquent intensity, has matured into one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene.” – The New Yorker
www.jupiterquartet.com | TaosSchoolofMusic.com
Taos, NM – The renowned Jupiter String Quartet, a uniquely intimate ensemble built around family bonds and musical connection, is one of the celebrated Faculty Quartets-in-Residence at the 2026 Taos School of Music Chamber Music Festival from June 29-July 12, 2026. As part of its residency, the Quartet will give a free faculty seminar about Brahms’ String Quartet in A Minor on Thursday, July 2, 2026 at 5pm at the Rio Hondo Learning Center (5 Firehouse Road) and a performance on Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 5pm at the Taos Community Auditorium (133 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte). While in Taos, the Jupiter String Quartet will also work with the 19 violinists, violists, cellists, and pianists selected from all around the world for this year’s festival.
Based at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and giving concerts all over the country, the Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Mélanie Clapiès and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). The Jupiter Quartet has performed in some of the world’s finest halls, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria’s Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. In addition to the Taos School of Music Chamber Music Festival, they have also performed at festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, Caramoor International Music Festival, Music at Menlo, Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, the Banff Centre, the Seoul Spring Festival, and many others.
The Taos School of Music (TSoM) stands as a beacon of excellence in the world of chamber music education. Founded in 1963 in the serene Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico, the TSoM is celebrated for its intimate, immersive approach to training early-career musicians, and has been hailed by NPR as “one of the most prestigious and intimate of summer music schools in the country.”
Meg and Liz Freivogel and Daniel McDonough all attended TSoM as students, so the Jupiter String Quartet’s returning role as a faculty ensemble is a full circle moment for them.
“We are so thrilled to return again to the Taos School of Music, which has held a special place in our hearts since we first attended as students more than 20 years ago,” says Liz Freivogel. ”The intensive chamber music experience in such a beautiful setting provides a huge boost of inspiration for us, and it is a joy to work with the amazing students that attend the school every summer.”
For the seminar on Thursday, July 2 at 5pm, the Jupiter String Quartet will highlight the expressive musicality of Johannes Brahms’s Quartet in A Minor – a work on the group’s July 5 concert program – sharing insightful discussion of the work and the Quartet’s own experiences studying and performing the music. The seminar is free to attend with reserved tickets. There is also an option to purchase tickets to an exclusive dinner at local dining establishment, 192 at The Blake, taking place after the seminar. On Sunday, July 5, at 5pm, the Quartet’s strong artistic connections and expressive musicality shine in a colorful program inspired by nature and culture featuring Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 33 No. 3 “The Bird;” Cançoes da America by Clarice Assad; and String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 by Johannes Brahms.
Since forming in 2001, the Jupiter String Quartet has turned their family-infused dynamic into a musical strength. The personal connections that bind them – sisters who grew up making music together, a marriage that deepened musical partnership – and the artistic connections between the group that are fortified more everyday, create an intuitive ensemble communication that audiences consistently notice. The close-knit nature of their musical relationships are seen, heard, and felt from the stage.
More About Jupiter String Quartet: The Jupiter String Quartet’s chamber music honors and awards include the grand prizes in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition; the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City; the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America; an Avery Fisher Career Grant; and a grant from the Fromm Foundation. From 2007-2010, they were in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two.
The Jupiter String Quartet feels a strong connection to the core string quartet repertoire; they have presented the complete Bartok and Beethoven string quartets on numerous occasions. Also deeply committed to new music, they have commissioned string quartets from Nathan Shields, Stephen Andrew Taylor, Michi Wiancko, Syd Hodkinson, Hannah Lash, Dan Visconti, and Kati Agócs; a quintet with baritone voice by Mark Adamo; and a piano quintet by Pierre Jalbert.
On April 17, 2026, the Jupiter String Quartet released Undreamed Shores, the ensemble’s ninth studio album and first on Orchid Classics. On Undreamed Shores, the Jupiter Quartet turns to old friends with new inspiration. The album features the world premiere recordings of new string quartets written for the Jupiter by composers who are also longtime friends of the ensemble — Michi Wiancko (To Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores), Stephen Andrew Taylor (Chaconne/Labyrinth), and Kati Agócs (Imprimatur, String Quartet No. 2) — exploring themes including the climate crisis, the pandemic, memory, and re-imagination. This highly anticipated recording is the Jupiter’s final album with violinist Nelson Lee, who departed from the group’s lineup in September 2025, succeeded by violinist Mélanie Clapiès.
In addition to Undreamed Shores, the Jupiter’s discography includes a collaborative album with the Jasper Quartet released on Marquis Records in 2021, featuring Dan Visconti’s Eternal Breath, Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat, Op. 20, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round, which was praised by The Arts Fuse for its “smart program and fine execution.” The quartet has recorded previously for Azica Records and Deutsche Grammophon.
The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation and the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four.
About the Taos School of Music: The Taos School of Music (TSoM) stands as a beacon of excellence in the world of chamber music education. Founded in 1963 in the serene Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico, the TSoM is celebrated for its intimate, immersive approach to training early-career musicians, and has been hailed by NPR as “one of the most prestigious and intimate of summer music schools in the country.” Founding Vision and Legacy The TSoM was conceived in partnership between a group of passionate professional musicians and Taos locals, led by Chilton Anderson, a Taos rancher and the director of the Taos Ski Valley Ski School. Chilton envisioned a haven where young musicians could focus on chamber music while drawing inspiration from the breathtaking Sangre de Cristo mountains. His dedication and vision, coupled with his belief in the transformative power of music, laid the foundation for what the TSoM is today.