Juilliard Names Katarina String Quartet New Graduate Resident Quartet

[NEW YORK, May 28, 2024]––The Katarina String Quartet has been named Juilliard’s next graduate resident string quartet. The ensemble’s two-year residency begins in September and runs through spring 2026. Violinists Jeanel Liang and Jérôme Chiasson, violist Celia Morin, and cellist Maya Enstad make up the Canadian ensemble, which was founded in 2022 under the tutelage of André Roy at McGill University in Montreal. 

The Katarina String Quartet aims to pursue projects that center around inclusivity, sustainability, and accessibility. Inspired by Katarina Guarneri, the wife of the renowned violinmaker Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, the quartet pays tribute to lesser-known women whose uncredited contributions have helped paved the way in the creation of classical music for centuries. The Katarina String Quartet was recently awarded the gold medal and the BIPOC Composer Prize at the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. Previously, the quartet won first prize at the Canadian Music and McGill Chamber Music competitions.

“We are pleased to welcome the Katarina Quartet to this long-standing string quartet-in-residence position at Juilliard,” said David Serkin Ludwig, dean and director of Juilliard’s Music Division. “This ensemble shares our commitment to tradition and innovation, performing works by composers ranging from Haydn to Vivian Fung. We are excited to have the quartet join our community and know they will flourish in their opportunity to work with members of the legendary Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ), the primary mentors in the program.”

As Lisa Arnhold Fellows at Juilliard, the members of the Katarina String Quartet will perform an annual recital at Alice Tully Hall in New York, coach regularly with the Juilliard String Quartet, and participate in the annual Juilliard String Quartet Seminar. They will also assist the JSQ with its ensemble and chamber music instruction, coach other student ensembles, and assist in the first year String Quartet Survey class. Upon successful completion of their Juilliard residency, in 2026, each of the quartet members will be awarded an Artist Diploma in String Quartet Studies.

“The Katarina Quartet will bring much to Juilliard's chamber music culture,” said Merry Peckham, assistant dean and director of chamber music. “This wonderful quartet will be a force for good in the name of great chamber music making.”

The most recent Juilliard quartet in residence, Ivalas Quartet completes its residency at the end of the 2024 semester. Other Juilliard graduate string quartets in residence have included the Aeolus, Afiara, Attacca, Avalon, Biava, Calder, Cassatt, Chiara, Corigliano, Essex, Lark, Maia, Magellan (now the Whitman String Quartet), Miró, St. Lawrence, Shanghai, Ulysses, and Verona.

Juilliard’s graduate resident string quartet is supported by the Arnhold Foundation and the George L. Shields Foundation.

About the Katarina String Quartet
Known for its evocative interpretations and deeply personal sound, the Katarina String Quartet (KSQ) has studied with members of the Alban Berg, Dover, and Danel quartets. The KSQ has coached extensively with André Roy at McGill University and Gerhard Schulz at the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, England, as well as with the Pacifica Quartet and Atar Arad at the 2023 professional string quartet studies program in Bloomington, Indiana. It participated as a senior quartet at the McGill International String Quartet Academy last August and was most recently featured at the Robert Mann String Quartet Institute in New York City. The members of the KSQ are regular featured artists at central classical music societies in Montreal and cherish their connection to the city.

The members of the KSQ aim to pursue repertoire and projects that intersect with their musical and moral values, with a focus on fostering inclusivity, sustainability, and accessibility. The quartet takes its name from Katarina Guarneri, the wife of the legendary violinmaker Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, who made violins under her husband’s guise during the most productive years of his career and is rumored to be responsible for many of del Gesù’s most successful violins. Inspired by Katarina, the KSQ pays tribute to the many forgotten women whose uncredited contribution to the industry paved the way for music to be shared for years to come.

For more information, visit katarinastringquartet.com. 

About The Juilliard School
Founded in 1905, The Juilliard School is a world leader in performing arts education. The school’s mission is to provide the highest caliber of artistic education for gifted musicians, dancers, and actors, composers, choreographers, and playwrights from around the world so that they may achieve their fullest potential as artists, leaders, and global citizens. Juilliard is led by Damian Woetzel, seventh president of the school, who has prioritized affordability and access to the highest level of artistic education while championing Juilliard’s tradition of excellence.

Located at Lincoln Center in New York City, Juilliard offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, drama (acting and playwriting), and music (classical, jazz, historical performance, and vocal arts). More than 800 artists from 42 states and 50 countries and regions are enrolled in Juilliard’s College Division, where they appear in more than 700 annual performances in the school’s five theaters; at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and David Geffen halls and at Carnegie Hall; as well as at other venues around New York City, the U.S., and the world. The continuum of learning at Juilliard also includes nearly 400 students from elementary through high school enrolled in the Preparatory Division—Pre-College and Music Advancement Program (MAP). MAP serves students from diverse backgrounds often underrepresented in the classical music field. More than 1,200 students are enrolled in Juilliard Extension, the flagship continuing education program taught both in person and remotely by a dedicated faculty of performers, creators, and scholars. Beyond its New York campus, Juilliard is defining new directions in performing arts education for a range of learners and enthusiasts through a global K-12 educational curricula and preparatory and graduate studies at The Tianjin Juilliard School in China. 

juilliard.edu @juilliardschool

CONTACT:
Allegra Thoresen
[email protected] 

Image: The Katarina String Quartet
Photo by: Lou Anne Gouin Plourde

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