EDMOND—The Juilliard String Quartet took the stage of Armstrong Auditorium on January 15, performing works by Haydn, Beethoven and a lesser-known composer before an audience of 411.

The quartet represents one of America’s best-known conservatories and includes violinists Joseph Lin and Ronald Copes, violist Roger Tapping and cellist Joel Krosnick. The group says it plays established works—in this case Haydn’s Quartet in G major, Op. 33, No. 5 and Beethoven’s Quartet in F major, Op. 135—as if they were new, and new works—Shulamit Ran’s 1989 Quartet No. 2, Vistas—as if they were established masterpieces.

The quartet is the latest Juilliard-affiliated act to visit Armstrong Auditorium. Others have included Marvin Hamlisch, the Anderson and Roe piano duo, the 5 Browns, pianist Erica Nickrenz of the Eroica Trio, and jazz pianist Peter Nero.

One concertgoer, commenting on the Armstrong concert series, characterized the performance as “pure classical music.” The performance also attracted a couple who had missed the quartet’s performance in Dallas, Texas, last year; they traveled more than 50 miles to hear the four string players perform at Armstrong Auditorium.

Another visitor, who has attended the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation concert series since its days in the John Amos Field House, remarked that his main reason for coming to see the quartet was to take in another performance of Shulamit Ran’s work. The Jewish composer’s work piqued his interest and left an impression when he saw one of her pieces performed last year in Oklahoma City.

Though a modern piece, the composition by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ran has a distinctive Jewish cultural flair. In that sense, it complemented the experience for those concertgoers who took the opportunity before the concert to view Armstrong Auditorium’s archeological exhibit. The Seals of Jeremiah’s Captors Discovered exhibit displays artifacts from ancient Jerusalem’s First Temple period, including two rare royal bullae imprinted with the names of Judean princes who are named together in Jeremiah 38. The exhibit also details the archaeological work of the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation and of the auditorium’s namesake, Herbert W. Armstrong.

One concertgoer said that the quality of concerts at Armstrong rivals that of Oklahoma City’s Civic Center and that he is surprised the auditorium wasn’t more well known. He said he first came to Armstrong Auditorium to take his wife to a ballet and to “check it off” his list. He and his wife have now held season tickets for more than five years.

“We will be back for the King’s Singers,” he said.

The King’s Singers return to Armstrong on February 24 for their third performance in the foundation’s concert series. But next up on the Armstrong stage is the Russian National Ballet Theatre with it’s second of two back-to-back performances on January 27 of Swan Lake.

Showtimes and tickets are available at ArmstrongAuditorium.com.