Founded in 1996, the Cypress String Quartet became one of the most popular and innovative quartets on the U.S. West Coast, with a strong orientation toward contemporary music. The group disbanded in 2016. The Cypress String Quartet's concert schedule numbered some 100 concerts yearly, with tours to Mexico, major European countries, and Japan interspersed among U.S. performances. The group's recorded catalog was particularly rich and encompassed both contemporary music and standard repertory. It released its first album, Live-Call & Response 2000, containing works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Dan Coleman, on its own label in 2002. It later recorded for Summit, MinMax Music, and Naxos before signing with Avie and releasing several recordings there. ~ James Manheim