Since 1980, some of the world's most outstanding musicians have descended upon the village each August to take part in the Skaneateles Festival.
For years, festival founders Louise and the late David Robinson provided Skaneateles with a month's worth of world-class chamber music played by instrumentalists who were always top in their field.
In 2005, after the passing of Robinson, the directorial torch was passed to University of Rochester instructor David Ying, a cellist who along with wife, Elinor Freer, currently serves as festival co-artistic director.
In addition to his festival duties, Ying is a member of the all-sibling Ying Quartet, a renowned string ensemble also featuring his brothers, viola player Philip and violinist Timothy and his younger sister Janet, who also plays violin.
And the Recording Academy, the national organization responsible for the annual Grammy Awards, has recognized the ensemble's talent more than once.
On Dec. 6, when the Academy announced the nominations for the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which will be presented next month, the Ying Quartet learned they were nominated for Best Chamber Music Performance for their album “Tchaikovsky: Three String Quartets, Souvenir de Florence” (Telarc, 2007).
In addition, the album's producer, Judith Sherman, is nominated for Classical Producer of the Year for her work on the Ying Quartet's and several other records.
“Actually, this is the third time we've been nominated,” Ying said from his Rochester home over the holidays.
In 2005, the ensemble won the Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album for “4 + Four” (Telarc, 2005), an album they recorded with the Turtle Island String Quartet.
The Tchaikovsky recording is a double album that features three expansive works by the renowned Russian composer.
“We'd never really been big players of Tchaikovsky, but after we discovered these pieces, we realized that his string pieces have been unfairly neglected,” Ying said. “So we decided to record some of them.”
Susan Mark, Skaneateles Festival executive director, said that the quartet's nomination is great for the festival.
“That kind of exposure for a quartet that regularly appears with us is terrific. David is such a vital part of the festival ... It's just a wonderful thing,” she said.
In 2005, after the passing of Robinson, the directorial torch was passed to University of Rochester instructor David Ying, a cellist who along with wife, Elinor Freer, currently serves as festival co-artistic director.
In addition to his festival duties, Ying is a member of the all-sibling Ying Quartet, a renowned string ensemble also featuring his brothers, viola player Philip and violinist Timothy and his younger sister Janet, who also plays violin.
And the Recording Academy, the national organization responsible for the annual Grammy Awards, has recognized the ensemble's talent more than once.
On Dec. 6, when the Academy announced the nominations for the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which will be presented next month, the Ying Quartet learned they were nominated for Best Chamber Music Performance for their album “Tchaikovsky: Three String Quartets, Souvenir de Florence” (Telarc, 2007).
In addition, the album's producer, Judith Sherman, is nominated for Classical Producer of the Year for her work on the Ying Quartet's and several other records.
“Actually, this is the third time we've been nominated,” Ying said from his Rochester home over the holidays.
In 2005, the ensemble won the Grammy for Best Classical Crossover Album for “4 + Four” (Telarc, 2005), an album they recorded with the Turtle Island String Quartet.
The Tchaikovsky recording is a double album that features three expansive works by the renowned Russian composer.
“We'd never really been big players of Tchaikovsky, but after we discovered these pieces, we realized that his string pieces have been unfairly neglected,” Ying said. “So we decided to record some of them.”
Susan Mark, Skaneateles Festival executive director, said that the quartet's nomination is great for the festival.
“That kind of exposure for a quartet that regularly appears with us is terrific. David is such a vital part of the festival ... It's just a wonderful thing,” she said.
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