Visiting Quartet Residency Program

The internationally acclaimed Borromeo String Quartet as the 2020-21 resident artists for the 15th year of the Visiting Quartet Residency Program.

Inspiring audiences for more than 25 years, Borromeo is a pioneer in its use of technology and is the first string quartet to utilize laptop computers on the concert stage.  The Quartet often leads discussions enhanced by projections of handwritten manuscripts, investigating with the audience the creative process of the composer. In 2003 the Borromeo became the first classical ensemble to make its own live concert recordings and videos. The Quartet encourages audiences of all ages to explore and listen to both traditional and contemporary repertoire in new ways and uses multi-media tools such as video projection to share the creative process behind some works or the elaborate architecture behind others.

Borromeo has been ensemble-in-residence at the New England Conservatory and Taos School of Music, both for 25 years, and is quartet-in-residence at the Heifetz International Music Institute.

Noteworthy are its dramatic discoveries within the manuscripts of the Beethoven Quartets, and its performances of the Complete Cycle; the Beethoven Decathlon (four concerts of Beethoven’s last ten quartets, all with pre-concert lectures exploring his manuscripts); and single Beethoven Tryptich concerts (one concert including three quartets).

The School of Music, Dance and Theatre welcomed the world renowned Brooklyn Rider as the 2018-19 resident artists.

“Brooklyn Rider is one of the most engaging and diverse quartets of our time,” said Jonathan Swartz, professor of violin in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre and artistic director of the program. “The range of their interests is incredible, spanning across genres of music — they play the great masters like Mozart, Beethoven and Ravel as well as anyone in the profession and, at the same time, they are engaged in new music: performing composers of our time and writing their own music.”

The quartet, hailed as “the future of chamber music” by Strings magazine, was founded in 2005. Members include Johnny Gandelsman, violin; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Nicholas Cords, viola; and Michael Nicolas, cello.

Brooklyn Rider presents eclectic repertoire and gripping performances that draws rave reviews from classical, world, and rock critics alike. NPR credits Brooklyn Rider with “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.”

Brooklyn Rider’s performances are in Katzin Concert Hall on ASU’s Tempe campus.

Past visits

Nov. 2, 2018 7:30 p.m. Healing Modes: Brooklyn Rider

Jan. 31, 2019 7:30 p.m. Brooklyn Rider

Mar. 21, 2019 7:30 p.m. Dreamers: Brooklyn Rider with Magos Herrera

St. Lawrence String Quartet

The School of Music, Dance and Theatre welcomed the renowned St. Lawrence String Quartet as the 2021-22 resident artists. The quartet was also in residency for the inaugural season of the Visiting Quartet Residency Program and has been in residence several seasons with the program.

Established in Toronto in 1989, the quartet quickly earned acclaim at top international chamber music competitions and was soon playing hundreds of concerts each year worldwide. The quartet is at the forefront of intellectual life at Stanford University where they direct the music department's chamber music program, and frequently collaborates with other departments.

Lauded as “provocative and brilliant” and “one of the great quartets of our lifetime” by the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle, the St. Lawrence String Quartet’s talents are recognized world-wide. The quartet is known for the intensity of its performances, its breadth of repertoire and its commitment to concert experiences that are at once intellectually exciting and emotionally alive. Their vast repertoire celebrates the masterworks of Haydn and Beethoven, highlights lesser-known works by composers like Martinu, Korngold, and Verdi, and introduces audiences to music of our time.

“Without the St. Lawrence String Quartet, we might not have this incredible program today, which is now entering its thirteenth year,” says ASU faculty Jonathan Swartz, founder and artistic director of the residency. “Their artistic creativity and energy won over the hearts and minds of everyone at ASU and in the community. They helped define what a residency at ASU could be, and we owe a great deal of credit for the overall success of our program to them.

As Visiting Quartet in Residence, the Grammy-nominated ensemble worked with students on themed projects and presented three concerts throughout the year.

Past visits

Oct.18, 2017 Katzin Concert Hall
Haydn Op. 20 Extravaganza!

Feb. 9, 2018 Katzin Concert Hall
Radiant Genius, Mozart and Tchaikovsky

April 7, 2018 Camelback Bible Church Phoenix
Chamber Music Society

Haydn's Op 33 No 3
Sibelius' "Voices Intimae"
Beethoven's Op. 135

April 7, Virtual concert
“Mozart” and “Korngold”

The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world, combining brilliantly communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today's world. Now in its second decade as a quartet, the quartet has established itself as an ensemble of the highest musical qualifications in its tours across the United States and abroad. Their performances regularly take place in many of the world's most important concert halls, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. At the same time, the Quartet's belief that concert music can also be a meaningful part of everyday life has also drawn the foursome to perform in settings as diverse as the workplace, schools, juvenile prisons, and the White House.

As quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music, the Ying Quartet maintains full time faculty positions in the String and Chamber Music Departments. The Ying Quartet is comprised of Janet Ying, violin, founding member of the Quartet; Robin Scott, violin; Phillip Ying, viola; and David Ying, cello.

Past visits

Sep. 29, 2016 with cellist Zuill Bailey, Mesa Arts Center
Schumann: Cello Concerto (our arrangement for cello and string quartet, inspired by Schumann's own wishes)
Janacek: String Quartet No 1. "Kreutzer Sonata"
Beethoven: "Kreutzer" Sonata (arranged for string quintet) 

Feb. 1, 2017 Americana, Katzin Concert Hall
Barber: String Quartet + Barber's original last movement
Billy Childs: Awakening
Dvorak: String Quartet Op. 105

April 5 Russian, Katzin Concert Hall
Borodin: String Quartet No. 2
Stravinsky: Concertino
Beethoven: 59/3 "Razumovsky"

The ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre welcomed the Brentano String Quartet as String Quartet in Residence for several seasons. In addition to performing the entire two-century range of the standard quartet repertoire, the Brentano Quartet has a strong interest in both very old and very new music. Violinists Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violist Misha Amory and cellist Nina Lee perform three concerts of outstanding repertoire.

Past visits

April 9, 2020 7:30 p.m. (cancelled)

Feb. 6, 2020 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 25, 2019 7:30 p.m. - with Dawn Upshaw

Oct. 23, 2015, 7:30 p.m. - Concert 1: A Fine Romance

Feb. 5, 2016, 7:30 p.m. - Concert 2: A Fugue Good Men

April 8, 2016, 7:30 p.m. - Concert 3: Back to the Future

Oct. 28, 2011: Beethoven's Op. 135 and Op. 132

Feb. 10, 2012: Debussy’s Quartet, Bartok’s Quartet No. 1, and Ginastera’s Piano Quintet with Kwang-Wu Kim, pianist and dean and director of the Herberger Institute

April 13, 2012: Bach’s final Contrapunctus from Art of Fugue, Busoni’s String Quartet No. 2, and Beethoven’s Op. 130 with Grosse Fuge

The School of Music, Dance and Theatre at ASU’s Herberger Institute welcomed the Shanghai String Quartet as Visiting Quartet in Residence for 2014–15. This was the 10th anniversary of the Visiting Quartet Residency Program at ASU which features an innovative program that integrates distinguished visiting artists with a comprehensive chamber music curriculum, creating one of the leading chamber music programs in the country.

Renowned for its passionate musicality and impressive technique, the Shanghai String Quartet has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Its elegant style melds the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional breadth of Western repertoire, allowing it to traverse musical genres from masterpieces of Western music to cutting-edge contemporary works.

As part of the residency, the Shanghai String Quartet was featured in three concerts at Katzin Concert Hall:
Oct. 22, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 29, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
April 10, 2015, 7:30 p.m

The Juilliard String Quartet

The Herberger Institute School of Music, Dance and Theatre proudly welcomed the Juilliard String Quartet as visiting distinguished artists for the 2012–2013 season. Celebrating more than 60 years, this quartet was the second to participate in ASU’s Visiting Quartet Residency Program since its launch in 2005. The Juilliard String Quartet visited the ASU campus three times during the season. Each visit centered on a new theme and included performances, open rehearsals, lectures/demonstrations and master classes.

Past visits

Oct. 19, 2012 Mozart K. 575 in D Major, Carter 5, Beethoven Op. 131 

Feb. 13, 2013 Bach, from Art of the Fugue, 4 canons, Contrapunctus 1–4, Haydn Op. 54 No. 1 in G major, Beethoven Op. 127 

April 12, 2013 Program: Stravinsky 3 Pieces for String Quartet, Janacek “The Kreutzer Sonata,” Beethoven Op. 130 with Rondo as Finale instead of the Grosse Fugue

Orion String Quartet

The Orion String Quartet, one of the most sought-after ensembles in the United States, has been praised since its inception for offering diverse programs that juxtapose classic repertoire with masterworks by living composers. Highlights of the 2009-2010 season were a United States tour with pianist Peter Serkin and two Chamber Music Society concerts in Alice Tully Hall, one of which featured clarinetist David Krakauer in the New York premiere of David Del Tredici's Magyar Madness, a CMS co-commission. Other notable collaborations included performances at Philadelphia Chamber Music Society with violist Ida Kavafian and cellist Peter Wiley, and at Da Camera of Houston, again with Ms. Kavafian, and pianist Sarah Rothenberg. The Orion began the season with visits to the Lofoten Music Festival in Norway, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Orion released The Early Quartets on KOCH, marking the final installment of the ensemble's complete Beethoven quartet series. The quartet maintains residencies at Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Mannes College of Music and Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. The Orion Quartet has been an Artist of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1994.

Daniel Phillips (Violin); Todd Phillips (Violin);
Steven Tenenbom (Viola); Timothy Eddy (Cello)

Past visits

Nov. 19, 8 p.m. Camelback Bible Church*
Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m. Musical Instrument Museum*
April 13, 7:30 p.m. Katzin Concert Hall*

Tokyo String Quartet

The Herberger Institute School of Music, Dance and Theatre proudly welcomed the Tokyo String Quartet as the visiting quartet in residence for the 2008-2009 season. This quartet is the fourth to participate in ASU's Visiting Quartet Residency Program since its launch in 2005. The Tokyo String Quartet visited the ASU campus three times during the season. Each visit brought a new theme and includes performances, open rehearsals, lectures/demonstrations and master classes.

Past visits

Oct. 27-29, 2008 
Jan. 26-28, 2009 
April 13-15, 2009