biava quartet

The Biava Quartet is recognized as one of today’s most exciting young American string quartets. Winner of the Naumburg Chamber Music Award and top prizes at the Premio Borciani and London International Competitions, the Quartet has established an enthusiastic following in the United States and abroad, impressing audiences with its sensitive artistry and communicative powers. Formed in 1998 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Quartet takes its name from Maestro Luis Biava, a mentor since its inception.

The members of the Biava Quartet, violinists Austin Hartman and Hyunsu Ko, violist Mary Persin, and cellist Jason Calloway, hold the Lisa Arnhold Quartet Residency at the Juilliard School, serving as graduate quartet in residence and teaching assistants to the Juilliard Quartet. The Quartet previously held the same position with the Tokyo Quartet at Yale University and was the first ensemble to complete the Training Program in the Art of the String Quartet at the New England Conservatory under the direction of Paul Katz.

The Biava Quartet has performed to acclaim in important venues throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, and the Baroque Art Hall in Seoul. Other highlights from recent seasons include appearances at the Mostly Mozart and Aspen Music Festivals, Chautauqua Institution, and Pacific Music Festival in Japan.

In addition to its performance of the classical repertoire, the Biava Quartet also dedicates much of its efforts to the creation and performance of contemporary works. The Quartet has championed the music of American composers Mason Bates, William Bolcom, John Harbison, Ezra Laderman, and Stacy Garrop, whose Second String Quartet it has premiered and recorded. As ensemble in residence at the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society this season, the Biava Quartet is as well involved in an ambitious commissioning project which will yield four new works written expressly for the ensemble. The Quartet is equally devoted to interdisciplinary work, including a dramatization of the life of Emily Dickinson set to the music of Amy Beach with Ensemble for the Romantic Century, as well as the inaugural concerts in Washington, D.C. of Pro Musica Hebraica, a new organization founded for the dissemination of Jewish art music.

The Biava Quartet is committed to educating and inspiring audiences of all ages and is frequently invited to give masterclasses and lead community and educational programs at schools and conservatories around the country. The Quartet has served as ensemble in residence and faculty members at the Indiana University Summer String Academy, the Innsbrook Institute, San Diego Chamber Music Festival, the David Einfeldt Chamber Music Institute, the Heifetz International Music Institute, and the Luzerne Music Center. As recipients of a 2006 Chamber Music America grant in collaboration with the Hill and Hollow Chamber Music Series, the members of the Quartet have invested in the growth of the arts in communities.

The Biava Quartet has recorded for the Naxos and Cedille labels and has been heard on London’s BBC Radio 3 and NPR as well as in frequent national broadcasts. The Quartet has been featured in Strings and Strad magazines and is the subject of an upcoming PBS documentary film.

The members of the Biava Quartet hold advanced degrees from the New England Conservatory, University of Southern California, Yale University, and the Juilliard School.

To learn more about the Quartet, please visit www.biavaquartet.com

August, 2008. Please destroy all prior materials.