York College to welcome Apollo Chamber Players on Nov. 23

York College will welcome the Houston-based Apollo Chambers Players, a group whose mission is to explore the cultural and folkloric influences in classical music, at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 23, in DeMeester Recital Hall, Wolf Hall. The performance, made possible by a generous gift from the Boustead Family Foundation, is open to the public free of charge.

Winner of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Residency Partnership award, the quartet has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall twice in the past five years, and it holds the distinction of being the first American chamber ensemble to record and perform in Cuba since the embargo relaxation. Apollo is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally-syndicated program "Performance Today."

Apollo is a passionate advocate of contemporary music. In 2014, the organization launched a bold project to commission 20 new multicultural works by the end of the decade. Now approaching its conclusion, "20×2020" features a roster of the world’s leading composers, including Grammy winners Libby Larsen and Christopher Theofanidis. The group has collaborated with renowned ensembles and artists including the Houston Ballet and Houston Chamber Choir, Grammy/Emmy winner and Academy Award contributor Vanessa Vo, James Dunham, Ismail Lumanovski, and Indian Classical music star Chitravina N. Ravikiran, among others.

Apollo reaches further into the community by partnering with schools, universities, at-risk youth centers, refugee and veterans service organizations, hospitals, airports, and public libraries, providing performances, educational programs, and entrepreneurship lectures that impact a wider, underserved audience.