Ansonia Quartet

summergarden_juilliard_quartet_lowres-73 — Byungchan Lee, Sumire Hirotsuru, Isabel Kwon, Jocelin Pan

About:

The Ansonia Quartet is embarking on its fourth season together as an ensemble. So far this season, they have held a summer residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute and performed recitals at Shandelee Music Festival and Robbie Collomore Series.

The Ansonia’s international career was launched off the heels of a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2017. They met their target goal of $10,000 in nine days to tour to Japan where they performed recitals in Oita and Tokyo, and held workshops for Japanese students.

Since then, the quartet has travelled to Nova Scotia for a residency at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, to Toronto for recitals and community engagement performances, and to Durham where they coached and led the Durham Youth Orchestra in a featured joint concert. In the United States, the quartet has appeared at the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center for masterclass with Ani Kavafian, performed Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro with the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, and presented recitals at the Harvard Club of New York, Nicholas Roerich Museum and SOPAC (South Orange Performing Arts Center), Japanese Ambassador’s Residence in Washington D.C.

The Ansonia’s passion to push string quartet boundaries has led to not just a global reach but to fresh literature. They have given world premieres at Juilliard’s 2018 Focus! Festival, MoMA’s Summergarden series, and the New York Choreographic Institute where they also collaborated with dancers from New York City Ballet. The quartet has also infused Argentine tango into their repertoire and collaborated with Grammy-award winning bandoneon player, Hector del Curto.

Formed at The Juilliard School in September 2016, they were awarded a Gluck Community Service Fellowship through The Juilliard School to pursue community engagement endeavors, as well as a coveted position in the Honors Chamber Music Program for the 2017/2018 season. The quartet worked primarily with Ronald Copes and Roger Tapping of the Juilliard String Quartet, as well as with Sylvia Rosenberg and the Dover String Quartet.

ジュリアード音楽院の同級生４人で結成したアンソニア・カルテットは、2017年度の室内楽プログラムの選抜グループに抜擢され、同年夏にはクラウドファンディングで1万ドルの資金を集め、初の日本ツアーを敢行。トロントツアー、リンカーンセンターAlice Tully HallやChamber Music Societyでの演奏、ニューヨークシティバレエとの共演の他、2018年にはニューヨーク・MoMA近代美術館のサマーガーデン・シリーズで、世界初演２曲を含む現代曲４曲を演奏。NYを中心に活動中です。

Social Media:

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Review:

In Review: Ansonia Quartet on National Sawdust Log by Rebecca S. Lentjes for MoMA Summergarden Concert: New Music for String Quartet on July 22th, 2018 at Museum of Modern Art, New York City

Listen:

Elgar: Introduction and Allegro with Juilliard Chamber Orchestra
February 16th, 2018
Alice Tully Hall, New York City

Mozart: Quartet no. 14 in G Major, K. 387 “Spring” / 4th movement

March 20th, 2018
The City College of New York

Japanese Ambassador’s Residence in Washington D.C.
“Early Christmas Concert”

The Ansonia Quartet performed three pieces at the Japanese Ambassador’s Residence in D.C. for distinguished guests at a Christmas concert. Hosted by Ambassador Sugiyama at the Embassy of Japan.

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019
Japanese Ambassador’s Residence, Washington D.C.

MoMA Summergarden “New Music for New York”

The Ansonia Quartet performed two world premieres and two New York premieres at The Museum of Modern Art.

Sunday, July 22nd, 2018
The Museum of Modern Art, Garden Lobby

Franghiz Ali-Zadeh / Oasis (1998) – “Probable” New York premiere
Paul Desenne / Diásporas (2017) – World premiere
John Woolrich / String Quartet No. 6–Badinerie (2017) – World premiere
Lei Liang / Gobi Gloria (2006) – New York premiere

The Museum of Modern Art, Summergarden 2018. Photo: Alycia Kravitz

Japan Tour 2017　– 日本ツアー2017 –

(Gofundme Crowdfunding website – donate now!: https://www.gofundme.com/the-ansonia-quartet-japan-tour)

The Ansonia Quartet has held two performances and one workshop for students in Oita and Tokyo in August 2017. We would like to thank all the kind supporters who made our journey possible by participating in our crowdfunding campaign on Gofundme.

Music Workshops at Summer in JAPAN

Sunday, August 6th, 2017
HorutoHall Oita, Oita, Japan

The 5th Annual Summer in JAPAN Classical Concert – Sumire Hirotsuru and her Harvard & Stanford Friends feat. Ansonia Quartet from Juilliard –

Monday, August 7th, 2017
Otono Izumi Hall, Oita, Japan

The Ansonia Quartet in Tokyo

Friday, August 11th, 2017
Iwasaki Koyata Hall, International House of Japan, Tokyo, Japan

Residency at Lunenberg Academy of Music Performance

October 22nd – November 2nd, 2017

Ansonia Quartet worked with the Dover Quartet at Lunenberg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia for ten days, along with several outreach concerts and a final performance.

Outreach Concerts: Mahone Bay Nursing Home, New Germany Elementary School
Final Performance: Wednesday, November 1st at LAMP