Strum (2006, revised 2012)

Drawing on American folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement, the piece has a kind of narrative that begins with fleeting nostalgia and transforms into ecstatic celebration.   

-Jessie Montgomery

Strum weaves together layers of rhythmically driven strumming with simple, soaring melodies to create what Montgomery describes as “texture motives”. The strumming begins with a calm ostinato plucked by the viola and is passed around the quartet, slowly building in speed and intensity. Several competing rhythmic and melodic textures are thrown around the quartet, eventually culminating into an excited unison finish.

Jessie Montgomery is an American composer and violinist born in New York City in 1981. She has been closely associated with the Sphinx Organization, which is dedicated to developing young Black and Latino classical musicians, since 1999. She is a co-founder of the PUBLIQuartet and is a member of the Catalyst Quartet. An active and sought-after composer, Montgomery is currently the Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony.