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Making A Difference in 4/4 Time

UT’s Miró Quartet does more than perform at the highest level they help with medical research on repetitive stress injuries. They’re Longhorn Game Changers.

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promotional photo of the Miró Quartet

Miró Quartet members William Fedkenheuer, John Largess, Daniel Ching and Joshua Gindele do more than perform and teach at the highest level. They work with the Center for Performing Arts Medicine on research into repetitive stress injuries, a risk for any musician. 

On the surface you might not see an obvious link between a globetrotting virtuoso string quartet and a third-shift factory crew moving widgets along an assembly line. Look a little deeper and you’ll discover that people in both occupations often suffer from the same ailment: repetitive stress injuries.

Formed in 1995, the Miró Quartet consists of professors Daniel Ching, William Fedkenheuer, John Largess, and Joshua Gindele. Together, they perform more than 100 concerts a year and have served as the quartet-in-residence at Butler School of Music since 2003.

Hailed by the New York Times as possessing “explosive vigor and technical finesse,” the dynamic Miró Quartet enjoys its place at the top of the international chamber music scene.

Now, the Miró Quartet is collaborating with Dr. Evan Collins, an orthopedic surgeon at Houston Methodist Hospital, and his team at The Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM) to help prevent and treat repetitive stress injuries. Through music, they’re helping to develop new medical technologies, ranging from hand injury treatment and neurological research to music therapy and arts integration.

The Center for Performing Arts Medicine is a complete health home for the performing artist. The only center of its kind in the country, a specialized group of more than 100 physicians work collaboratively to address the specific demands placed on performing artists.

Although CPAM focuses much of its work on performing artists specifically, the research conducted in the CPAM reverberates outward. Lessons learned from treating artists are applied to people from all walks of life dealing with repetitive stress injuries.

Now in its second decade, the Miró Quartet continues to captivate audiences and make a difference in the lives of people dealing with repetitive stress injuries.

The Miró Quartet, they’re Longhorn Game Changers. That’s how we change the world.


Learn about more Longhorn Game Changers:

He Fights Spam So You Don’t Have To (Andrew Whinston)

Can P.E. Make Kids Smarter? (Darla Castelli)

A Better Way From Here to There (Chandra Bhat)

Green Thumbs, Healthy Kids (Jaimie Davis)