The Oregon String Quartet, formed in 1982, is comprised of four faculty members from the University of Oregon School of Music. Committed to excellence in Performance and Music Education, the Quartet members each teach the undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Music and guide the string program together to create an unusually cohesive department with an exciting and vibrant atmosphere. The quartet performs regularly in the Pacific Northwest in addition to their other appearances around the country. The members of the quartet bring together a wide range of musical experience including years of chamber music collaborations with world-renowned artists.

The Oregon Quartet is featured on a recently released disc by Koch International Classics recorded in 2001. This disc contains seldom heard works by African-American composer William Grant Still including the Lyric Quartet, Danzas De Panama, Prince and the Mermaid Suite, Summerland, and Selections from Little Folk Suites (1968) performed by the Oregon String Quartet. Victor Steinhardt and Fritz Gearhart perform three works for violin and piano: Pastorela, Blues and Quit Dat Fool'nish. This disc was listed in the August/September 2002 issue of Strings Magazine in the New and Noteworthy column.

KATHRYN LUCKTENBERG, violin, received her bachelor's degree at the Curtis Institute of Music. She made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1978 and has participated regularly at the Marlboro and Grand Teton Music Festivals. As a former member of the Kasimir String Quartet, she performed throughout the eastern and southern United States, and in France, Italy, and Switzerland.

FRITZ GEARHART, violin, received his master's degree from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Donald Weilerstein. His earlier performances as a member of the Chester String Quartet were widely acclaimed by the press and singled out as a highlight of the 1989 String Quartet Congress. Mr. Gearhart has performed in major halls around the country, and has several compact discs to his credit, including releases on the Koch International, Albany and Centaur labels.

LESLIE STRAKA, viola, holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Arizona State University where she studied with William Magers. She has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe. Straka has been a featured artist at the Luzerne Chamber Music Center in New York, Festival Miami, the Miami Bach Society, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Mainly Mozart and Flagstaff Festivals in Arizona, and the York Festival in England.

STEVEN POLOGE, cello, received his professional degrees from the Eastman School of Music and from the Juilliard School. He has played with the Rochester and Buffalo Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonia, and has served as Principal Cellist with the New York String Ensemble, Rome Festival Orchestra, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Symphony of Westchester. He has also performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, and in Italy and Sweden.