“String Quartet No. 6” was written for the 90th birthday celebration of Don Stone, a longtime patron of the composer since he was small child. It begins with a 4 note motif (which can be sung on the words ‘hap-py birth-day’) that finds ways to develop and morph itself throughout the composition. In the second movement, it is turned into a calm and introspective chorale and in the final movement, a lively and focused scherzo.