Click for a list of the participating string quartets with their biography and a list of the repertoire they will be studying.
Violinists Nicholas Tavani and Rachel Shapiro, violist Greg Luce, and cellist Alan Richardson are currently at the University of Maryland, where they are the Graduate Fellowship String Quartet pursuing doctoral degrees. They have been praised by Strad magazine for their “high-octane” performances. Formed in 2008 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, since its inception the Aeolus Quartet has been awarded prizes at nearly every major competition in the United States. In 2011, they were named the grand prize winners of the Plowman Chamber Music Competition and Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition and silver medalists of the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. In 2009, they received first prize in the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition. The Aeolus Quartet has collaborated with such artists as Eugenia Zukerman, Zuill Bailey, Peter Salaff and the Miro Quartet. Return to top > Amphion Quartet > BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, op. 95 (“Serioso”) SCHUMANN String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, op. 41, no. 3 Violinists Katie Hyun and David Southorn, violist Wei-Yang Andy Lin, and cellist Mihai Marica first performed together as a quartet at Sprague Hall at the Yale School of Music in February 2009. They have been hailed for their “gripping intensity” and “suspenseful and virtuoso playing” by San Francisco Classical Voice. They are the winner of the 2011 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, as well as first prize recipients at the Hugo Kauder String Quartet Competition. In 2010, at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition they garnered first prize in the Strings category as well as the Audience Choice Award. This past summer the Amphion String Quartet was the Protégé Quartet in Residence at Chamber Music Northwest, where they collaborated with artistic director/clarinetist David Shifrin; they also performed at the OK Music Festival. Highlights of the 2011–12 season include New York appearances on the Schneider Concert Series at the New School and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and on the Tertulia Chamber Music Series, as well as performing the world premiere of a string quartet by John Sichel. Return to top > Ars Nova String Quartet > BARTÓK String Quartet No. 2 BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C minor, op. 18, no. 4 Violinists Benjamin Hart and Caroline Hart, violist Christopher Lowry, and cellist Emily Nelson formed the Ars Nova Quartet in the fall of 2008 at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. The name of the Quartet is derived from their mission—to promote the works of living composers while providing interpretations of traditional repertoire. The Ars Nova Quartet is based in Nashville, Tennessee and has studied and performed throughout the United States and Europe. This past summer they were granted fellowships to participate in the Advanced Quartet Studies program at the Aspen Music Festival. In October 2011, the Ars Nova Quartet presented the world premiere of Michael Slayton’s Sursum. Return to top > PUBLIQuartet > MOZART String Quartet No. 23 in F Major, K.590 (“Prussian”) BRAHMS String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, op. 67 Violinists Jessie Montgomery and Curtis Stewart, violist Nick Revel, and cellist Amanda Gookin formed PUBLIQuartet in 2010. The Quartet’s members, who come from the Eastman School of Music, Juilliard, and Mannes, contribute a collective background in classical, jazz, world and electro acoustic performance. Their repertoire includes standard works as well as rare music from the classical catalogue, and contemporary compositions that extend the stylistic norms of the traditional string quartet. The Quartet has performed in a variety of different venues, from concert halls and private homes, to cafes and community spaces. This past summer they were Quartet in Residence at the Deer Valley Music Festival in Utah, under the direction of Joan Tower and the Muir Quartet. Return to top > The Old City String Quartet > MOZART String Quartet No. 14 in G Major, K.387 BEETHOVEN String Quartet in A minor, op. 132 BARTÓK String Quartet No. 6 Violinists Joel Link and Bryan Lee, violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and cellist Camden Shaw are currently the Graduate String Quartet in Residence at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas. Formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008, the ensemble draws from the musical lineage of the Vermeer and Guarneri String Quartets. The Old City String Quartet was named gold medalist and grand prize winner of the 2010 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and was awarded second prize in the 2009 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and as an ensemble has attended music festivals such as Artosphere and La Jolla SummerFest. The ensemble worked intensively at the Curtis Institute with such renowned chamber musicians as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Arnold Steinhardt, Joseph Silverstein, and Peter Wiley. The ensemble’s recording of the Mendelssohn and Debussy quartets, released last spring by the audiophile label Unipheye Music, was awarded the Blue Moon award by the highly respected audiophile website 6moons.com. The album’s review by David Kan proclaimed that “the maturity in these interpretations is phenomenal.”
Return to top > Voxare String Quartet > BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, op. 130 MENDELSSOHN String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, op. 13
Violinists Emily Ondracek and Galina Zhdanova, violist Erik Peterson, and cellist Adrian Davron are currently graduate students at Juilliard. Their New York-based quartet, which formed three years ago at Juilliard, has received critical praise for its inventive programming, technical prowess, attention to details, and passionate performances. Last season, the Voxare String Quartet made its debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The quartet has served as Quartet in Residence at Bargemusic, where it has been a frequent performer. The Quartet specializes in performing works by living composers at its residency series, DIG IT! New Music, at Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition to performing the standard quartet repertoire, Voxare has made and performed their own transcriptions of popular and rock music and often performs in alternative concert venues. They can be heard on soundtracks of several films shown at festivals such as Sundance and Tribeca. Return to top >
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