Album Notes

The Tantalus Quartet consists of members Kristian Anderson, Matthew Cochran, Kevin Manderville, and Stephen Mattingly. Since its inception, the quartet has kept an active performing schedule, appearing throughout the United States and Canada. Of their performance at the 2006 Acadia International Guitar Festival, John Martin (GuitArt International) wrote: “Tantalus delivered a crisp, solid, sensitive performance… thus heralding an important new ensemble voice in the guitar community.” This concert season again brings the group to cities across the United States, from Los Angeles to Washington DC. In 2007, the quartet will make their European debut at the world-renowned Iserlohn Guitar Festival held in Germany. Strong advocates of new music, the quartet premiered “City Songs” by Alan Scott and will premiere new works by Joseph Michaels and Grammy-nominated composer Apostolos Paraskevas this season.
The group formed during their doctoral studies at Florida State University, where they were each awarded teaching assistantships to study with legendary pedagogue Bruce Holzman. The quartet has worked with some of today’s leading musicians, including Roland Dyens, Gerald Garcia, Frank Gerstmeier, Katona Twins, Dale Kavanagh, Thomas Kirchhoff, and Laura Young. Each member is an accomplished soloist, winning prizes and awards in numerous international competitions and appearing in recitals in the United States, Canada, and Europe. In 2006, the quartet was awarded the Florida Artists Enhancement Grant given by the Florida Department of State.