UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Danish String Quartet and Danish National Girls’ Choir, 7 p.m. Friday, April 10 at The Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara.

Two of Denmark’s most celebrated ensembles – the Danish String Quartet and the Danish National Girls’ Choir – return to Santa Barbara for a evening of music old and new.

This wide-ranging program weaves Nordic folk songs together with shimmering contemporary works, including “in wildness,” a U.S. premiere by David Lang co-commissioned by Arts & Lectures.

Lang’s work continues his sonic exploration of the relationship between humans and nature. Other highlights include “And So” by Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw and “Þann heilaga kross” by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir.

“A rare collaboration between virtuosic strings and celestial voices, this performance offers a stirring blend of tradition and innovation,” A&L said.

The Danish String Quartet has the distinction of being a group of young musicians with an extensive history of musical collaboration. Its three Danish-born members, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Frederik Øland and Asbjørn Nørgaard, first played chamber music together in a music summer camp before they were even teenagers, and then continued to do so throughout the school year of their own volition.

In 2001 Tim Frederiksen of The Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen, who had been the leader of Den Danske Strygekvartet, became the quartet’s mentor and main teacher.

“All of a sudden, at the ages of 15 and 16, we were a serious string quartet. It all happened so fast that none of us seemed to notice the transition. We were enrolled at The Royal Academy of Music and our life as music students had begun. None of us have any memory of our lives without the string quartet.” Frederiksen said.

In 2006 they made their first recordings – of Carl Nielsen’s quartets – as the Young Danish String Quartet, immediately attracting the attention of publications from Gramophone to the New York Times.

In 2008, Norwegian cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin joined the quartet, and the group has since gone from strength to strength, with a concert programme embracing core classical repertoire and contemporary music and highlighting Scandinavian composers, as well as folk music.

Since its founding in 1938, the Danish National Girls’ Choir has been synonymous with Danish song and the pure Nordic sound.

Every year the choir sings more than 60 concerts in Denmark and is always met with great interest in full churches and concert halls.

The choir tradition in Denmark is very strong, going back several centuries. This choir, which is considered one of the best girls’ choirs in the world, combines old song traditions with new music, always working to develop the choir tradition exploring the special sound of young girls’ voices.

This elite ensemble covers a broad repertoire encompassing Grundtvig’s hymns, modern compositions and pop songs without losing its musical spark and infectious enthusiasm. The Danish National Girls’ Choir has also been on several tours to among other countries France, England, Russia, China and Australia.

Nordic Cool 2013 is presented in cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Tickets are $50$110 general public / $20 UCSB students with current student ID required.
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 805-893-3535, or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu; or The Granada Theatre.