Enso String Quartet, Douglas Brinkley nominated for Grammy awards

BY FRANZ BROTZEN
Rice News staff

Two of the Grammy nominations announced this week have connections to Rice.

The Enso String Quartet, whose members spent a two-year residency at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, has been nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Chamber Music Performance” category.

	ENSO STRING QUARTET

The musical selections for which the quartet was nominated — three quartets by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera — were on a CD released this fall on the Naxos label.

In addition, Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, was nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Album Notes” category for “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson — Music from the Film.” His co-writer was actor Johnny Depp.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY

Brinkley is the literary executor for Thompson’s estate. He is also the editor of a three-volume collection of the late journalist’s letters.

The Enso String Quartet is made up of Maureen Nelson, violin; John Marcus, violin; Melissa Reardon, viola; and Richard Belcher, cello. Nelson and Belcher were members of the quartet in 2004, when they began their two-year graduate quartet-in-residency at the Shepherd School. The quartet received a Master of Music in string quartet after their two years of residency and were then invited to remain a third year as guest lecturers. Their mentors were James Dunham, professor of viola and chamber music; Norman Fischer, professor of cello; and Kenneth Goldsmith, professor of violin.

The ensemble’s name, Enso, is derived from the Japanese Zen painting of the circle that represents many things: “perfection and imperfection, the moment of chaos that is creation, the emptiness of the void, the endless circle of life and the fullness of the spirit,” according to the group’s Web site.

The winners will be announced at the 52nd annual Grammy awards ceremony Jan. 31, 2010.