ROCO made its debut at the jewel of Houston’s 5th Ward Cultural Arts District, the beautifully renovated historic DeLUXE Theater, on January 25th as we welcomed guest violinist Nicole Cherry in collaboration with ROCO Artistic Partner Scott St. John, presenting an evening of chamber works honoring and inspired by the outstanding contributions of London-based nineteenth-century Afro-European violin virtuoso, George Bridgetower.
A part of Dr. Cherry’s commissioning project, “ForgeWithGeorge”, the premiere of David Wallace’s The Bridgetower featured, for solo violin with creative vocalization—along with Yvette Jackson’s recent commission Remembering 1619 for violin and tape. Fellow ROCO string musicians joined for further works by George Bridgetower, Joseph Bologne – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Duke Ellington.
Recorded live at The DeLUXE Theater, Houston, Texas, January 25, 2025
Performed by Scott St. John, violin; Nicole Cherry, violin; Suzanne LeFevre, viola; Philip Borter, cello; Shino Hayashi, cello
Audio engineering by Andy Bradley
Scott St. John, Violin
Nicole Cherry, Violin
Suzanne LeFevre, Viola
Philip Borter, Cello
Shino Hayashi, Cello
JOSEPH BOLOGNE, CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGES
Sonata No. 1 in Bb Major
YVETTE JACKSON
Remembering 1619 for violin & tape
DAVID WALLACE
The Bridgetower
(World Premiere – Current Revision)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”), for string quintet
DUKE ELLINGTON
Come Sunday
