The opening concert of the 2026/27 Absolute Music Program provides an opportunity to hear some wonderful music in the intimate setting of Urban Beat and meet a unique musical family, the Berofsky Quartet. The quartet is composed of professors Aaron Berofsky (violin) and Kathryn Votapek (viola), and their award-winning sons, pianist and composer Charles, and cellist Sebastian. Each individual is renowned performer on their own.

The Berofsky Quartet will be performing a program consisting of a work by Beethoven as a youth (26), a contemporary piece by Danny Elfman who is well known for his movie soundtracks, and an exciting piece by Dvorak. The Beethoven piece, Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 16, starts with a dramatic first movement and ends with a sparkling conclusion typical of Beethoven's early-period Viennese style. The Elfman piece, Piano Quartet (2017), consists of five themes that playfully cycle through a variety of moods and textures. Finally, the Dvorak piece, Piano Quartet in E flat major, is grand and complex, and showcases the composer’s innovation and originality in the classical form.