Posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 [7:14 AM]

Members of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet are Joseph Hagedorn, Steven Newbrough,

Ben Gateño and Wade Oden. They perform at 7 p.m. CT at the W.W. Slider Humanities

Center Recital Hall.

The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet will perform at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday, Feb. 2, in W.W. Slider Humanities Center Recital Hall, 155 Blue Raider Drive. The concert -- which is part of the 2011-12 Lindsey Wilson Cultural Affairs Series -- is free and open to the public.

With the passion, style, and musical sophistication borrowing from the best chamber music and string quartet traditions, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet has successfully made its case as one of the world's leading guitar ensembles since its founding in 1986. The MGQ has performed throughout the United States both in recital and with orchestra, balancing a dizzying array of first-rate repertoire ranging from Renaissance and Baroque to Spanish, Latin American and Romantic, to highly imaginative existing and newly commissioned contemporary works.

The MGQ consists of Joseph Hagedorn, Steven Newbrough, Ben Gateño and Wade Oden, who often appear to teach and present workshops at festivals and universities throughout the United States.

Since 2006, the MGQ has collaborated with Flamenco dancer Colette Illarde, developing two different productions with music by the great Spanish composers Joaquin Rodrigo and Enrique Granados.

The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet's concerto appearances include the Austin Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony, among others. In recital, the MGQ has performed in more than 30 states in such cities as Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Omaha  and Boston.

The MGQ has been heard on the nationally syndicated Saint Paul Sunday, and on National Public Radio's Performance Today. The group's first four CDs on the Albany and GSP labels has garnered unanimous international critical acclaim.