Competitors Announced for 15th Triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition
By
Carly Maga
Posted on
April 30, 2025
Photo by Jake Dyson. Courtesy of Banff Lake Louise Tourism.
Ten of the world’s finest quartets from Europe, Asia, and North America will congregate at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada from August 25-31, 2025, to compete for the grand prize.
BANFF, AB, April 30, 2025 – Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is thrilled to announce the ten talented quartets to compete in the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC). Held every three years in the Rocky Mountains of Canada’s Banff National Park, on Banff Centre’s campus in Banff, Alberta, BISQC’s grand prize awards the top quartet with residencies, performance opportunities, and a financial award, together worth over $500,000. Competitors in the 15th Banff International String Quartet Competition will travel to Banff from August 25-31, 2025, from their home bases in Asia, Europe, and North America, with players hailing from 14 different countries.
The ten competing quartets will be (in alphabetical order):
Arete Quartet – Based in Seoul, South Korea
Cong Quartet – Based in Hong Kong, China
Quatuor Elmire – Based in Paris, France
Quartett HANA – Based in Munich, Germany
Quartet KAIRI – Based in Salzburg, Austria
Quatuor Magenta – Based in Paris, France
Myriade String Quartet – Based in Montreal, Canada
Nerida Quartet – Based in Bremen, Germany
Poiesis Quartet – Based in Cincinnati, United States of America
Viatores Quartet – Based in Berlin, Germany
Find out more about the competing quartets at banffcentre.ca.
“We are looking forward to welcoming ten truly extraordinary string quartets to Banff Centre this summer. The esteemed preliminary jury reviewed a record number of applications from quartets around the globe. These ten quartets they selected now have the chance for a life-changing opportunity that success in Banff can provide.”
Barry Shiffman, Director of BISQC
“The triennial competition brings together a passionate community of audiences with a crop of fresh musicians representing the next Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity | 2 generation of world-renowned players. The alchemy of this music, this crowd, and this setting is absolutely magical. I’m excited to meet these artists and introduce them into our family of alumni and friends for life.”
Chris Lorway, President and CEO of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Prizes
In addition to generous cash prizes, the laureate quartets are offered residency opportunities at Banff Centre. The first prize laureates also receive a custom-designed three-year artistic and career development program, including: North American touring management overseen by MKI Artists and European touring under Kozertdirektion Hampl; a recording residency; the Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize of a paid residency worth $110,000 CAD; an Esterházy Foundation Residency with concerts at Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt and the Lucerne Festival; and an opportunity for a two-week Chamber Music in Residency at the prestigious Britten Pears Arts in England.
All quartets not advancing to the finals will receive a Christine and David Anderson Prize of $5,000 CAD.
Selection Process
Banff Centre accepted applications for the 2025 Competition from October 1, 2024 until March 1, 2025. The preliminary jury had the difficult task of choosing only ten quartets from an extremely competitive year, emphasizing the growth of an exciting string quartet industry. The preliminary jury consisted of: Joshua Gindele (Miró Quartet), Ayane Kozasa (Aizuri Quartet/Kronos Quartet), and Guillaume Sutre (Ysaÿe Quartet).
Event Information
The 15th BISQC will take place at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity from August 25-31, 2025. Established in 1983 as part of Banff Centre’s 50th anniversary, BISQC is a major celebration of chamber music in a festival format that attracts enthusiastic audiences for sold-out performances. Audience packages are now sold out. Single event tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. MT on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at banffcentre.ca/bisqc.
Directed by Barry Shiffman, BISQC is recognized as one of the premier chamber music competitions in the world and the largest event of its kind. A program of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, BISQC is a career accelerator for all invited ensembles, thanks to its unparalleled exposure to concert presenters, managers, and broadcasters from North America.
The schedule contains four rounds of competition for all ten quartets and a fifth final round for the top three competitors. The Canadian Commission Round will feature a world premier by composer Kati Agócs titled Rapprochement. New to the 2025 event, the fifth and final round will require finalists to curate their own unique program of repertoire.
Past winners of BISQC include the Isidore String Quartet (USA, 2022); Marmen Quartet and Viano Quartet (2019); Rolston Quartet (2016); Dover Quartet (USA, 2013); Cecilia String Quartet (Canada, 2010); Tinalley String Quartet (Australia, 2007); Jupiter String Quartet (USA, 2004); Daedalus Quartet (USA, 2001); Miró Quartet (USA, 1998) and, St. Lawrence String Quartet (Canada, 1992)
Thank you to lead BISQC supporters—the Azrieli Foundation and Anonymous—and to all our generous supporters and endowments that make this competition possible.
Artist and Banff Centre photos, as well as interviews with Chris Lorway and Barry Shiffman, are available upon request.
Carly Maga
Director, Communications
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
tel: +1.403.763.6210
cell: +1.403.431.3423
carly_maga@banffcentre.ca
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre is a post-secondary institution built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and leadership development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become a global organization leading in arts, culture, and creative decision-making across dozens of disciplines, from the fine arts to Indigenous Wise Practices. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to move everyone who attends our campus - artists, leaders, thinkers, and audiences - to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to build an innovative, inspiring future through education, performances, convenings, and public outreach. banffcentre.ca