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On March 18, 2026, RISD welcomed Marian Anderson String Quartet, the headline performers of our MLK 2026 centerpiece event, to deliver a concert in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy through music, reflection, and community: Legacy in Harmony. Of music and its power, Dr. King wrote that “When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth, which flow through [their] instrument.” Through their performance, Marian Anderson String Quartet aims to inspire artists, designers, and justice seekers to continue advancing causes of democracy for all. About Marian Anderson String Quartet Founded in 1989 and named after the legendary contralto, the Marian Anderson String Quartet won the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Competition in 1991, becoming the first African-American ensemble in history to win a classical music competition. The quartet’s artistic endeavors have taken them to Alice Tully Hall, the Corcoran Gallery, the Library of Congress, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Kilbourn Hall, and the Chateau Cantanac-Brown in Bordeaux, France. Its distinguished history also includes performances ranging from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center to Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center, and residencies/speaking engagements spanning from The National Gallery of Art and TedxBlinnCollege to Brown University's Heimark inaugural artists-in-residence at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice. As recipients of the prestigious Guarneri String Quartet Award and Residency from Chamber Music America (CMA), the quartet utilized its award toward outreach and engagement with inner-city youth. Driven by their belief in the power of education, it performs in venues ranging from museums to soup kitchens and churches to prisons.