The Dover Quartet was formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008 and draws from the lineage of the distinguished Guarneri, Cleveland, and Vermeer quartets. Its name pays tribute to Dover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber.

Composer Jessie Montgomery says of her piece “Strum”: “Drawing on American folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement, the piece has a kind of narrative that begins with fleeting nostalgia and transforms into ecstatic celebration.”

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate (Chickasaw) describes himself as an “American Indian” and dedicated classical composer and pianist who expresses his native culture in symphonic music, ballet, and opera. His commissioned work for the Dover Quartet, “Woodland Songs,” brings to life the five traditional woodland animals revered by the Chickasaw in the southeastern United States: Squirrel, Bird, Deer, Raccoon, and Fish. Their family clans are named after them, and there are many traditional stories about them. The first classical arrangement of Pura Fé's “Rattle Songs” was also done by J. I. Tate. Pura Fé is co-founder of Ulali, a group of indigenous female musicians who combine traditional roots and contemporary styles with singing, stomping, and rattling turtle shells. Tate calls it “the most influential piece of my life.”

Finally, the Dover Quartet plays Antonín Dvořák's magnificent 12th String Quartet, a classic piece from the Western chamber music canon. The Czech composer wrote it in 1893 during a happy summer vacation during his three-year stay on the other side of the Atlantic.