The Artists of the Xtring Quartet

Enrique Rueda
Enrique is a multimedia artist. He has been performing, composing and recording traditional and experimental music for the past 25 years, while, at the same time, developing a national reputation as a sound sculptor. He has created a unique body of sculptural work based on acoustical principles and cultural traditions from around the world (http://www.enriquerueda.com). He plays and builds a variety of stringed musical instruments like the Colombian bandola and the tiple, as well as wind instruments of the Andean regions such as the quena and quenacho.

Raquel Paraíso
Versatile both academically and artistically, Raquel performs Western classical music and Latin American music in a variety of musical settings.  She is at ease composing, arranging music, researching Latin American musical traditions, lecturing, and performing. As well as being the violinist and mandolinist with Xtring Quartet, she is a main creative force in the acclaimed Madison based Latin American ensemble Sotavento, noted for its cross-over musical work and new approaches to traditional and contemporary Latin American musical expressions.

Francisco López
Francisco is a multi-instrumentalist artist who has collaborated with several Latin American musicians performing throughout the United States.  His deep knowledge of the former and his experience as a composer and a performer, have made him a key person in the process of fostering awareness of eclectic music approaches in the education of young children around the world. Together with Raquel, he is the co-author of the book A Collection of Latin American Folk Songs (Hal Leonard, 1999).

Selim Firat
Selim studied guitar under Mesut Özgen in Hacettepe Universiy, Turkey, and lute music under the guidance of George Lindquis. As a teacher, performer, and composer, Selim taught guitar at Hacettepe University, Ankara in the 1990s. He has performed solo and chamber music in USA and Turkey and he has traveled and performed in South America with Xtring Quartet, the group for which he has written several of his compositions.