“A Well-Strung Valentine”

Published: Feb 5, 2019

FORT LAUDERDALE – The critically acclaimed singing string quartet Well-Strung performs A Well-Strung Valentine at The Parker on Thursday, February 14 at 8 p.m. From The Beatles to Bach, Puccini to Fleetwood Mac, Well-Strung will have audiences falling in love all over again with the greatest hits of the last 300 years. The internationally acclaimed singing stringquartet’s celebration of love and music will make this Valentine’s Day truly unforgettable. Cupid, draw back your bow, your violin bow! Well-Strung, starring Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Christopher Marchant (second violin), Daniel Shevlin (cello) and Trevor Wadleigh (viola), is a string quartet with a modern twist. The group plays universally recognized classical pieces while singing pop music hits from the likes of Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson and other pop stars for a uniquely engaging experience. Audiences may also recognize Trevor and Chris as two recent contestants on CBS TV’s The Amazing Race. The New York Times has called Well-Strung "A talented quartet of men who sing and play instruments brilliantly fuses pop and classical music from Madonna to Beethoven." Conceived by Mark Cortale and Christopher Marchant, the foursome formed in 2012 and has since gained international attention. They have been invited to perform at the Vatican in Rome and at a gala for President Obama. Hillary Clinton requested a special performance by Well-Strung after the release of their viral music video Chelsea’s Mom. They have also performed on the The Today Show, and live onstage with artists such as Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Audra McDonald, Deborah Voigt and were the opening act for Joe Jonas and his band DNCE at Pride Toronto. They have appeared twice with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and co-starred in two Christmas concerts at Town Hall in Manhattan with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus in 2016. The group has received critical acclaim at New York’s prestigious Feinstein's/54 Below and well beyond, from the House of Blues in New Orleans to the Leicester Square Theatre in London. In fall of 2018, Well-Strung embarked on a two-week international U.S. Embassy Cultural Engagement tour that included performances in Russia, Istanbul, London and more. Well-Strung’s third studio album titled Under The Covers was released in September 2018 and debuted in the top 5 on Billboard’s Classical charts, ranking at No. 3 on the Classical Crossover Albums and No. 4 on the Classical Album Charts. The album features a collection of covers combining everyone from Lady Gaga and Vivaldi to Queen and Rossini, and is available on iTunes, Amazon and wherever music is sold. Their second studio album titled POPssical debuted at No. 8 on Billboard’s Classical Crossover Chart, and features ten tracks including renditions of “Blank Space (Feat. Bach)” and “Royals All dates, times, programs, artists and ticket prices are subject to change without notice. (Feat. Palladio)” as well as the infamous ode to Hillary Clinton, “Chelsea’s Mom” as a bonus track. To celebrate the release of POPssical, the group surprised their fans with a bonus music video for the track “The Devil Went Down To Georgia (Feat. J.S. Bach).” In the video, the group takes Bach’s Double Violin Concerto and adds the southern charm of Charlie Daniels Band to create a unique sound all on its own. Well-Strung’s POPssical album is available at iTunes or on CD at CDBaby. Their first music video entitled Mozart Meets Kelly Clarkson initially caught the eye of the national press. BBC Radio host Jo Good called Well-Strung “absolutely amazing” after their on-air performance and interview for her show. In the States, they’ve also been called “the hottest thing with a bow since Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games” by the New York Daily News, and were featured in their first magazine cover spread for Metrosource. Most recently, Out Magazine said of the group: “Aside from all being incredibly gorgeous, the men of the all-male singing string quartet Well-Strung are talented masters of turning pop hits into instrumental wonders.” More information and tour dates at www.wellstrung.com. Tickets are $33–$43 with $73 VIP tickets that include premium seating and a meet and greet with the artists. Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of The Parker. Buy tickets online at ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at the The Parker box office Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. The The Parker, located in Holiday Park at 707 N.E. Eighth Street in Fort Lauderdale, is an affiliated venue of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, which provides programming and management of the facility. The Broward Center 2018-2019 season is presented by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. For more information visit ParkerPlayhouse.com, like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/TheParkerPlayhouse and join the conversation on Twitter with #ParkerPlayhouse.

ABOUT PARKER PLAYHOUSE The neo-classical Playhouse Parker is one of Fort Lauderdale’s first venues. Built by Dr. Louis Parker, the playhouse opened its doors on February 6, 1967 and is managed now by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. This 1,168-seat, fully equipped theater plays an important role in the community by fueling economic development, while also bringing the community together with performances, activities and educational programming.