Venue: Department of Music's Conrad Prebys Concert Hall

The members of the acclaimed Attacca Quartet are passionate advocates of contemporary repertoire and new work—including that of composer and vocalist Caroline Shaw, who became the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013. In a special program together, the Attacca and Shaw perform music from their 2022 album Evergreen, which, like their previous record, Orange, garnered a Grammy Award.

“A polished sonority and well-balanced, tightly synchronized ensemble with nearly faultless intonation….it is heartening to know that chamber music is in good hands with such gifted young ensembles as the Isidore Quartet”—Chicago Classical Review

Winners of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022, the New York City-based Isidore String Quartet was formed in 2019 with a vision to revisit, rediscover, and reinvigorate the repertory.  The quartet is heavily influenced by the Juilliard String Quartet and the idea of ‘approaching the established as if it were brand new, and the new as if it were firmly established.’

The quartet began as an ensemble at the Juilliard School, and has coached with Joel Krosnick, Joseph Lin, Astrid Schween, Laurie Smukler, Joseph Kalichstein, Roger Tapping, Misha Amory, and numerous others. They are currently completing their final year as Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

In North America, the Isidore Quartet has appeared on major series in Boston, New York, Berkeley, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Durham, Washington DC, Houston, Toronto, and Montreal, and has collaborated with several eminent performers including James Ehnes, Jeremy Denk, Shai Wosner, and Jon Nakamatsu.  Their 24/25 season includes performances in Salt Lake City, Buffalo, Kansas City, Portland (OR), Louisville, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Memphis, Vancouver, San Francisco, and many other cities across the U.S. and Canada.  In Europe they will appear at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and in Bonn (Beethoven Haus), Stuttgart, Cologne, and Dresden, among many others.

Over the past several years, the quartet has developed a strong connection to the works of composer and pianist Billy Childs. His String Quartet No. 2, “Awakenings” was among the repertoire that delivered the Isidore their Banff victory, and this season they will play Childs’ Quartet No. 3, “Unrequited.” In the 2025-26 season, they will premiere a new Childs quartet written expressly for them.

Both on stage and outside the concert hall, the Isidore Quartet is deeply invested in connecting with youth and elderly populations, and with marginalized communities who otherwise have limited access to high-quality live music performance.  They approach music as a “playground” and attempt to break down barriers to encourage collaboration and creativity.  The name Isidorerecognizes the ensemble’s musical connection to the Juilliard Quartet:  one of that group’s early members was legendary violinist Isidore Cohen.  Additionally, it acknowledges a shared affection for a certain libation – legend has it a Greek monk named Isidore concocted the first genuine vodka recipe for the Grand Duchy of Moscow!

Program
Haydn: Op. 76 No. 4 “Sunrise”
Childs, Billy: String Quartet No. 4 (2026)
Dvořák: Quartet No. 13 in G Major, Op. 106

Sponsored by Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

American Retrospective: Recognizing America’s 250th Anniversary

To recognize the historic Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of America in 2026, the Pacifica Quartet features three works for string quartet in an anniversary retrospective that creates a musical collage based on the musical themes from the American Experience. From the incorporation of American hymn tunes in the first quartet of Charles Ives, to the popular sounds from Hollywood’s silver screen in the String Quartet No. 3 of Korngold, to the indigenous folk influences found in Dvorak’s beloved “American” Quartet, this program gives listeners a unique opportunity to celebrate the diversity of America’s musical landscape captured over its 250-year history.

Program
Ives: String Quartet No. 1
Korngold: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 34
Dvořák: String Quartet in F major, Op. 96, “American”

Sponsored by Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

The Academy Chamber Ensemble was formed in 1967, drawing its membership from the world-renowned chamber orchestra theAcademy of St Martin in the Fields, which was itself founded bySir Neville Marriner in 1958 and is currently led by Music DirectorJoshua Bell. The purpose behind the formation of the ChamberEnsemble was to perform the larger scale chamber music repertoire with players who customarily worked together, instead of the usual string quartet with additional guests. Drawn from the principal players of the orchestra and play-directed by Academy Director / Leader Tomo Keller, the Chamber Ensemble now performs in multiple configurations from wind trios to string octets. Its touring commitments are extensive and include regular tours of Europe and North America, whilst recording contracts with Philips Classics, Hyperion, and Chandos have led to the release of over thirty CDs.

Program
Huw Watkins: New commissioned work
Françaix: Octet
Schubert: Octet in F major for Winds & Strings, D.803

Sponsored by Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley

“breath-taking vitality” — Badische Zeitung

Founded in 2001, Meta4 is one of Finland’s most celebrated string quartets. Their Polarkr(e)is Drifting North program explores works from the sound worlds of the Arctic Circle, from the Inuit themes of American composer Amy Beach’s String Quartet, to works of their fellow Finns Kaija Saarhiaho and Jean Sibelius, paired with Italo-Indian composer Krishna Nagaraja’s Stringar, a piece that combines old and new through Nordic folk dance tunes.

In 2004, the ensemble won first prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of a Shostakovich work at the International Shostakovich String Quartets Competition in Moscow and, in 2007, first prize at the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna. The Finnish Ministry of Culture awarded the ensemble the Finland Prize in recognition of its international cultural influence and Meta4 was chosen for the “BBC New Generation Artist Scheme” (2008, 2010). 

Program
Kaija Saariaho Fleurs de neige
Amy Beach String Quartet in One Movement
Krishna Nagarja Stringar
Jean Sibelius String Quartet “Voces Intimae”

“One of the greatest string quartets I have ever heard. They can play anything.”—Ted Nash

New York-based, GRAMMY-award winning Harlem Quartet has been praised for its “panache” by the New York Times and hailed in the Cincinnati Enquirer for “bringing a new attitude to classical music, one that is fresh, bracing and intelligent.” Since its public debut at Carnegie Hall in 2006, the ensemble has thrilled audiences and students in 47 states as well as in the U.K., France, Belgium, Brazil, Panama, Canada, Venezuela, Japan, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

The GRAMMY award-winning quartet returns to San Diego with Echoes of Inspiration, an eclectic program that weaves together works from three different centuries. For this program, the ensemble has selected pieces that each composer wrote to celebrate the influence of their heroes and cultural traditions.

The program is anchored by an early Beethoven work, opus 18 no. 5 in A Major, which intentionally reflects the moods and ideas of Mozart’s quartet in the same key. The musical counterpoint the group has selected, Benjamin Britten’s Quartet No. 2, is a heartfelt tribute to Henry Purcell which Britten composed in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Purcell’s passing. Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte draws inspiration from the minuet of Haydn’s Quartet Opus 77/2, reflecting both innovation & respect for tradition. Guido Lopez-Gavilan’s Cuarteto en Guaguanco rounds out the program— this exhilarating work is inspired by Afro-Cuban Chant.

Through their meticulous selection of works, this ensemble demonstrates their dedication to combining traditional masterpieces performed at the highest level with complementary contemporary works that are writing the future for classical music. Their ability to seamlessly traverse various musical styles while maintaining a signature sound that also honors both the specific style and context of the work, but also the inspirations behind each piece is a testament to their exceptional musicianship and artistic vision.

Program:
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in A Major, op.18 no.5
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel:String Quartet in E-flat Major
Caroline Shaw: Entr’acte
Guido Lopez-Gavilan: Cuarteto en Guaguanco

With a career spanning over three decades, the Brentano Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. The New York Times extols its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism; and the Times (London) hails their “wonderful, selfless music-making.” They bring their “Evocations of Home” program to San Diego—which offers a set of perspectives on the idea of home, culturally, intellectually, emotionally, and geographically. The evening program prominently features a new work by UC San Diego Professor Lei Liang, alongside movements byDvorak, Schubert, Bartok and Monteverdi that evoke a sense of place, identity and heritage.

Program
Antonín Dvořák Dumka from Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51
Franz Schubert Scherzo from Quartet in G Major, D887
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi Lamento della ninfa (arr. Lei Liang)
Lei Liang Gobi Gloria
Bela Bartok Scherzo alla bulgarese from Quartet No. 5
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Andante cantabile from Quartet No. 1
Evaristo Ginastera Allegramente rustico from Quartet No. 1
Chou Wen-Chung Larghetto nostalgico from Quartet No. 1, “Clouds”
Lei Liang “Madrigal Mongolia” for String Quartet (2024)

“Roomful of Teeth is revolutionizing choral music.”—New Yorker

Roomful of Teeth is a two-time GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble dedicated to the performance of new works for eight amplified voices. Through collaboration, commissioning, and new technologies, they seek to reimagine the expressive potential of the human voice.

Their latest album, Rough Magic (New Amsterdam Records, 2023) was captured using groundbreaking recording techniques and innovative spatial technology. Roomful of Teeth was recognized at the 66th GRAMMY Awards in 2024, winning Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for Rough Magic; and composer William Brittelle’s work Psychedelics, which appears on the album, was nominated for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.