The HARLEM QUARTET, praised for its "panache" by The New York Times, is "bringing a new attitude to classical music, one that is fresh, bracing and intelligent," says the Cincinnati Enquirer. Its mission is to advance diversity in classical music while engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire, highlighting works by minority composers. In addition to performing on chamber music series around the country, they make their debuts this season at two prestigious New York venues, performing with guitarist Eliot Fisk at the 92nd Street Y and with jazz pianist/composer Chick Corea at the Blue Note. They will release their fourth CD this season, a collaboration with the Chicago Sinfonietta featuring a new arrangement of West Side Story for string quartet and orchestra as well as works by Michael Abels and Benjamin Lees. 　　The Harlem Quartet made its acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in the fall of 2006, and has since gone on to grace stages around the world. In 2009, they performed for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House and made an appearance Christmas morning on NBC's Today Show. They made their European debut performing at the residence of the US ambassador to the UK, and returned to Europe as guest artists and faculty members of the Musica Mundi International Festival in Belgium. At the beginning of 2011, they were featured guest artists at the Panama Jazz Festival in Panama City. 　　The Harlem Quartet's superb artistic skills and versatility allow them to perform with such diverse artists as violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianists Misha Dichter and Chick Corea. The quartet performed by invitation with Perlman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and completed two recording projects with Corea at the end of the 2010-11 season. Their recording career began in 2007 when White Pine Music issued Take the "A" Train, a release that was featured in the November issue of Strings magazine that year. A second CD, featuring works of Walter Piston, was released in 2010 by Naxos. The third and most recent recording by the quartet was released in early 2011; it is a collaboration with pianist Awadagin Pratt and showcases works by American composer Judith Lang Zaimont. 　　The Harlem Quartet has been featured on WNBC, CNN, the Today Show, WQXR-FM, and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Each member of the quartet is a seasoned solo artist, having appeared with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops, and the Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, National, New World, and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras. 　　The Harlem Quartet was founded in 2006 by The Sphinx Organization, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to building diversity in classical music and providing access to music education in underserved communities. The quartet is managed by Sciolino Artist Management in New York City.