Performed with electrifying virtuosity by the indie-classical string quartet ETHEL, this multimedia concert melds evocative imagery from a 1970s photographic archive commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency with original music by some of today's top composers for a meditation on America's relationship to our land, our resources, and ourselves.

Original works were created for Documerica by ETHEL members and by composers commissioned by the quartet to represent the diversity of this country: Mary Ellen Childs; Ulysses Owens, Jr.; Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate; and James Kimo Williams. Each contributes a distinctive voice to the program. The music of Documerica is in constant dialogue with images on multiple screens, taking us on a fascinating journey through time and history and a landscape of memory that is by turns urban, rural, pastoral and gritty.
ETHEL is Ralph Farris (viola), Kip Jones (violin), Dorothy Lawson (cello) and Corin Lee (violin). Established in New York City in 1998, ETHEL quickly earned a reputation as one of America’s most adventurous string quartets. 20 years later, the band continues to set the standard for contemporary concert music, known for its enlivened playing, blending uptown conservatory musicianship with downtown genre-crossing.

The New York Times describes ETHEL's Documerica as “new music bonding with old images in rich, provocative and moving ways.”