STRING QUARTETS

The Abeo Quartet, formed at Juilliard in 2018, is winner of a First Prize and the Audience Favorite Prize in the 2022 Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition for Emerging Professional Ensembles, Silver Medals in the 2022 Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition and the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Abeo was selected to compete in the semi-finals of the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition and was also a finalist in the 2021 Young Concert Artists International Competition. Abeo is honoured to be the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Delaware under the mentorship of the Calidore String Quartet.

The quartet has been featured in the Schneider Concert Series, Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center’s Reach Festival with pianist Joseph Kalichstein, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s masterclass series with the Danish String Quartet, and on WQXR’s Midday Masterpieces. Abeo was also featured in Norway’s Vertavo Festival, performing seven Haydn string quartets and was in residence at the Glenstone Museum, debuting "Moonshot" by Alistair Coleman. In 2021, members of the Abeo Quartet were fellows at Yale University's Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, coached by the Brentano, Emerson and Miró quartets. The quartet was among the International Program artists at the 2022 Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute and additionally collaborated with pianist Shai Wosner, among others. Abeo has participated in the 2022 and 2019 Montreal International String Quartet Academy, studying with members of Quatuor Ebene, Meta4, Alban Berg, Takács and Artemis String Quartets.

Forming in 2015 as students of The Australian National Academy of Music, Affinity Quartet appeared on Australia’s classical music scene as ‘one of the most exciting ensembles to make their mark.’ Classic Melbourne.  

The quartet’s international accolades have included third prize at the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the 2022 McGill International String Quartet Academy Montreal, and the Young Talents Residency of the 2020 Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale. They have appeared at Montreal’s Pollack Hall, Festival Les Voix Intimes Belgium, Fondazione Cini Venice, Fornasetti House Milan, Mirabell Palace Salzburg, The Boas Trust, St Martin-in-the-Fields, City Music Society, Southbank Centre, and Prussia Cove International Musicians’ Seminar.  

Affinity Quartet performs new works by Australian composers, including Brett Dean, Matt Laing, Jack Symonds, Darrin Archer, Tom Misson, and they perform regularly in Australian concert series and festivals. 

In 2023 Affinity Quartet is based in Madrid studying with Professor Günter Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, and performs at the ‘ANAM Quartetthaus Season' in London presented by the Australia/UK Season of Culture, Royal Albert Hall and the Australian National Academy of Music. 

Affinity Quartet’s training includes the International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove, ProQuartet, Le Dimore del Quartetto residencies, and periods of study with Jonathan Brown, Oliver Wille, Dr Robin Wilson, Wilma Smith, and members of the Doric, Belcea, Artemis and Hagen Quartets. 

The Balourdet Quartet, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is currently in residence at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program. The quartet received the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, as well as prizes in international competitions including the Banff, Paolo Borciani, and Carl Nielsen competitions. They were also awarded the Gold Medal at the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. 

Highlights of the Balourdet’s 2022-23 season include appearances at Chamber Music Detroit, the Grand Piano Series in Naples, FL, NEC’s Jordan Hall, Merkin Hall, and Wigmore Hall. Additionally this season, the quartet is thrilled to premiere a newly commissioned work by celebrated composer Karim Al-Zand, made possible through Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant. The Balourdet has also performed at festivals and series including Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Bravo!Vail, La Jolla Music Society Summerfest, the Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Montgomery Chamber Music, Music Mountain, Santa Fe ProMusica, and the Schneider Concert Series. 

The Balourdet Quartet was formed in 2018 at Rice University in Houston, Texas under the tutelage of James Dunham and Norman Fischer. It currently works primarily with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory, as well as Miriam Fried and members of the Cleveland and Borromeo Quartets. The quartet takes its name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community.

Joined together from Israel, Korea-Canada, Saint Lucia, and the USA, the Dior Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. Formed in Fall 2018 at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University under the Pacifica Quartet, they are Silver prize winners of the 2021 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition, quarter-finalists of the Bártok World Competition, and Bronze Medalists of the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. They studied with members of the St. Lawrence, Alban Berg, Parker, JACK, Danish, Ébene and Belcea Quartets, as well as Scott St.John, Roman Borys, and Bryan Epperson. 

The Dior Quartet participated in various programs, including the Brien-Pears Young Artists Program, Banff String Quartet: Evolution in collaboration with Tippet Rise Arts Center, McGill International String Quartet Academy in Montreal, and the SLSQ Seminar. The Dior Quartet collaborated with Orion Weiss and Victor Yampolsky during their residency at Wintergreen Music Festival, and with Rolston String Quartet, Axel Strauss, and Stéphane Lemelin at the 2021 Prince Edward County Chamber Music Festival. The quartet made their debut with the Schneider Concert Series in January 2021 and was presented as a TD artist in Union Summer in July 2022. 

The repertoire and projects they pursue intersect with their multicultural backgrounds and moral values, as they seek to explore the immigrant experience through art. The quartet takes their name from the French word “D’or” which means gold. It's a rare, elegant, and malleable element, precious to those who own it and often gifted to loved ones. Most importantly, gold holds the memory of the earth and absorbs the stories of the people who give it shape and form. 

The quartet was one of ten quartets selected to participate in the prestigious 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition in August. 

The first chamber group to be awarded the Fellowship String Quartet, MILA Quartet graduated from Tianjin Juilliard School in 2022. In July 2021, the group was awarded Gold with Honours from the 2020/21 Singapore International Solo & Ensemble Competition. In May 2022, the group was selected and participated in the world-renowned Juilliard String Quartet Seminar. As one of four well-chosen young string quartets, MILA’s interpretation and ensemble technique were highly appreciated by the Juilliard String Quartet.  

MILA Quartet was coached by the Shanghai Quartet, Yoenjin Kim and Guillaume Sutre. They work closely with the Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble and joined them side-by-side at the 2nd Tianjin Chamber Music Festival. Represented by Wu Promotion, MILA recently succeeded in their first national tour. MILA has performed at well-known venues such as Beijing Forbidden City Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and Tianjin Grand Theatre, just to name a few.  

In February 2021, MILA shared a concert with the Shanghai Quartet at Tianjin Juilliard’s inaugural “Festival Connect”, and gave the world premiere of Adam Kondor’s Vita Nova with renowned conductor Chen Lin and the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra. After listening to MILA’s Bártok String Quartet No. 4, well-known conductor and violinist Gábor Takács-Nagy praised them as having “...gifted and insightful playing”. In April 2022, MILA premiered String Quartet No.1, a new work created by Tianjin Juilliard School’s faculty composer Dr. Niccolo Athens.  

The Risus Quartet was founded in 2020 by four passionate musicians living in South Korea. ‘Risus’ means ‘laugh’ in Latin and the vision of the quartet is to bring joy and laughter to audiences around the globe. Members Haeni Lee, Jieun Yoo (violins), Mary Eunkyung Chang (viola), and Yukyung Ma (cello) graduated from Seoul National University with a devotion to chamber music and now reside in the United States of America. They continue to expand their artistry and dedicate themselves to a deeper exploration of the art of the string quartet.  

First Prize winners of the 2022 Chamber Music In Yellow Springs Competition and Grand Prize and Gold Medal Prize winners at the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Risus quartet is currently the Young Professional String Quartet in residence at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas in Austin under the Miró Quartet and Sandy Yamamoto. They were awarded “The City of Portsmouth Prize” in the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition and were a Finalist of the Concert Artist Guild (CAG) in 2022. In the Summer of 2022, they participated at the Chigiana International Festival and Summer Academy in Siena, Italy. They were also in the McGill International String Quartet Academy (MISQA) in Montreal, Canada 2022, undertaking mentoring and coaching with world class artists including Günter Pichler, Gerhard Schulz and Valentin Erben from the Alban Berg Quartet, former member of the Artemis Quartet, Heime Müller, former member of the Ébène Quartet, Mathieu Herzog, Min-Jeong Koh from Cecilia Quartet, and all members from Meta4 Quartet. 

Their 2021-22 season includes performances in Korea, United States and Italy. They had concerts at the Seoul Arts Center Summer Music Festival, Recital in Lotte concert Hall, Jeju International Music Festival, Gum Nanse Music Center, and The House Concert. Additionally, the group's North American appearances include performances at the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago, Illinois, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center’s Presents at Notre Dame University, Indiana and the Artists Series Concerts in Sarasota, Florida. Virtual performances have played an important role in reaching communities for Risus, including involvement with the Music For Food Benefit broadcast by The Violin Channel. They also had recent concerts in Italy, including in Forli at the Santa Lucia Church cloister, in Riolo Terme at the Rocca, in Imola at the Cloister of Palazzo Vescovile, and in Fontanelice at San Pietro Apostolo Church. 

Gold medalists and Grand Prize winners of the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Terra String Quartet (formerly known as the Arte String Quartet) is a vibrant young international ensemble based in New York City. They are composed of graduates of The Juilliard School’s prestigious Honors Chamber Music Program, the Manhattan School of Music, the New England Conservatory and Harvard University. Praised for their "remarkable maturity and musicality" and "superb ensemble playing" (Hyde Park Herald, Chicago), these four musicians hail from across the globe and, through their unique individuality as artists, are committed to infusing the string quartet with equal parts passion, spontaneity, and humor.  

TSQ has performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, at Alice Tully Hall with cellist Natasha Brofsky as part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ “Wednesdays at One” series, and as part of the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival’s Winter Workshop in North Carolina, where they performed with Robert McDonald. They have also appeared in concert with the Cremona Quartet. Their mentors and coaches include Ara Gregorian, Mark Steinberg, Hye-Jin Kim, Daniel Avshalomov, Misha Amory, Natasha Brofsky, Catherine Cho, and Joseph Lin.  

They were finalists in the 2022 Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition and went on to win both the Grand Prize and Gold Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition at Notre Dame in May of 2022. They were also semi-finalists at the 2022 Banff International String Quartet Competition. TSQ is a member of Le Dimore del Quartetto in Italy and is the first quartet to have been chosen to participate in the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival’s Professional Fellowship Program at East Carolina University.