Houston's Jessica Bodner found that receiving a Grammy isn't as easy as it looks.

While wearing a Angel Sanchez gown, Bodner — a violist with the Parker Quartet and graduate of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) — worried about falling over or having a wardrobe malfunction while accepting the ensemble's Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance. She breathed easier knowing that violinist Karen Kim, the group's public relations expert, was in charge of the acceptance speech.

While looking for her wedding dress, a super modern cut with an asymmetrical flair caught Bodner's eye that just happened to also be available in timeless black silk.

"I found it on eBay and given that it was a 2009 design, I was able to negotiate down to a quarter of the price," she explains. "That's current enough for me, but I'll be sure not to wear it again if we are so fortunate to receive another nomination."

Bodner has no idea how the group's recording of Ligeti: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 on the Naxos label was nominated or how the process worked. But Naxos has a reputation of having a great distribution operation ensuring its recordings have great visibility.

It would seem that the category has a narrow focus, but the varied nature of compositions complicates any forecasting. The Parker Quartet recording was in the company of Isabelle Faust and Alexander Meinikov's complete Beethoven Sonata cycle for Violin and Piano, Fred Sherry String Quartet's Schoenberg's String Quartets No. 3 and 4, Porter Quincy: The Complete Viola Works by Eliesha Nelson and John McLaughlin Williams and Gnattali: Solo & Chamber Works for Guitar featuring Marc Regnier.

Bodner finished her HSPVA degree while studying with Lawrence Wheeler at the University of Houston Moores School of Music thanks to a special arrangement that allowed her to complete the requirements via correspondence. During the pursuit of her Bachelors at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) in Boston, she met the rest of her colleagues that would make up the ensemble including Daniel Chong and Karen Kim, violins, and cellist Kee-Hyun Kim.

The name was derived from the Parker House Hotel in Boston.

"We all came from different places. Dan from LA, Kee from Soul in South Korea and Karen from Wisconsin," Bodner says. "The Parker House is the oldest hotel in the US. and a national landmark where people in the arts would meet as they were passing through the city, sharing ideas. It was a meeting point for people and that had significance for us."

At NEC, Bodner studied with Kim Kashkashian, a viola virtuoso who recently visited Houston to partake in Rothko Chapel's 40th anniversary concert, and Martha Strongin Katz.

"NEC is a chamber music-centered school," Bodner says. "Three out of the four members of the Cleveland Quartet and a member of the Takacs Quartet teach here. After you experience what it feels like to have an equal voice in rehearsal and performance, it is difficult to be put in a situation where you have to do what the conductor says. I like to have an individual voice."

But soloist life can be lonely, noted Bodner.

"At times, it feels like I have three teachers traveling with me," she says. "They keep me on my toes helping me play at my very best."

As part of winning the Concert Artist Guild competition in 2005, the ensemble earned a debut recording with Naxos. But the group having already recorded a couple of Bartok quartets as a result of winning the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at the 2005 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in France caused a little tension with the label.

"Looking through the Naxos catalogue, we noticed that no one had recorded Ligeti's complete string quartets," Bodner says. "His First Quartet was written when he was very young. It has a medieval-baroque style almost sounding like Bartok. A nocturnal metamorphosis through-composed work, it's always really effective in performance."

György Ligeti's Second Quartet, written in the '60s, was influenced by electronic music. While other composers were experimenting using electronic devices, Ligeti still found acoustic instruments valuable. It's very modern sounding, akin to the music of Stockhausen.

"The Second Quartet is quite complicated, so we were quite involved with the producer on how to put it together," Bodner says. "It was a humongous amount of work. With all this preparation, we were thrilled to be nominated and never dreamed of winning."

The pre-telecast ceremonies took place at the LA Convention Center, where after checking-in, the three present members of Parker Quartet (cellist Kee-Hyun Kim stayed behind) were escorted down the red carpet for pictures and interviews.

"We went for fun of it," Bodner says. "I was not nervous as we walked down the red carpet. We did one random interview with TNT Latin America, then arriving at an area full of photographers asking you to stand this way and that. We don't really experience this kind of attention and glamor on tour."

Tired and hungry, Bodner and friends enjoyed the Grammy ceremonies and after-parties but after so much stimulation, crashed from exhaustion.

"Kee wished he had come with us," Bodner says. "Perhaps his absence was our lucky charm? We like to tease him about that."

Bodner grew up in Houston and has fond memories.

"I didn't realize how special Houston was when I was growing up," she says. "Now that I don't live there, I realize the art scene is great and helped me get my start."

The Parker String Quartet plays Ligeti for the Naxos recording: