CANTON -- The Alexander String Quartet — as it has for more than 30 years — will grace St. Lawrence University campus from Oct. 2 to 5 with a residency.

Two concerts that are free and open to the public will take place during a noontime matinee Oct. 4 in Peterson-Kermani Performance Hall, and an evening concert Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. in Gulick Theatre.

The Alexander String Quartet began in 1981 in New York City, but is based out of San Francisco where it still makes a major artistic impact. They were the first American quartet to win the London International String Quartet Competition in 1985. Celebrating their 35th anniversary in 2016, they performed at the major music capitals of five continents, and have since been recognized as one of the world’s premier ensembles.

The quartet consists of Sandy Wilson on cello, Paul Yarbrough on viola, Frederick Lifsitz on second violin, and Zakarias Grafilo on first violin. Torres says that Grafilo does most of the musical arrangements; however, they also hire composers to write pieces specifically for them. One such composer is Tarik O’Regan, who wrote a piece titled “Gradual” for the quartet last year specifically for their performance in Boise, Idaho. While they performed part of this composition last year, Torres says they are scheduled to perform the entire piece at St. Lawrence this year.

For more information, contact St. Lawrence’s Department of Music at 315-229-5166 or visit www.stlawu.edu/music.