The Juilliard String Quartet, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this season, has named Molly Carr as its new violist, replacing Roger Tapping, who died earlier this year.
Carr, who has been a member of the Juilliard School’s pre-college faculty, joins its college faculty with this appointment. The recipient of numerous international awards from such competitions and institutions as the Primrose Competition, Chamber Music America, ProMusicis Foundation, and the Davidson Institute, she also serves on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and Bard College Conservatory.
‘I am honored and so grateful to be joining the Juilliard String Quartet, an ensemble that I have looked up to and been inspired by my entire musical life,’ she said. ‘It is such an immense privilege to be invited to follow my late mentor and friend Roger Tapping in carrying on the much-revered, decades-long traditions of this historic quartet.’
Carr joins current Juilliard Quartet members, violinists Areta Zhulla and Ronald Copes and cellist Astrid Schween, who comment: ‘After the loss of our beloved colleague and friend Roger Tapping, we are thrilled to be welcoming Molly Carr as the new violist of the Juilliard String Quartet. Molly brings to our work together fantastic collaborative energy, a deeply probing curiosity and a passion for sharing that has marked the members of the quartet through its history.’
The Quartet’s forthcoming season includes premieres in Tucson of two quartets by Jörg Widmann alongside late quartets by Beethoven. Additional highlights include the world premiere of Tyson Davis’ String Quartet No. 2; concerts with Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet at Carnegie Hall and in Toronto and Ann Arbor; plus two tours in Europe.
Photo: Juilliard String Quartet (L–R) Astrid Schween, Molly Carr, Ronald Copes and Areta Zhulla © Erin Baiano