BISQC 2025 Competing Quartets

Chaenn Jeon (she/her) - violin, South Korea
Eunjoong Park (he/him) - violin, South Korea
Yoongsun Jang (she/her) - viola, South Korea
Seonghyeon Park (he/him) - cello, South Korea

Founded in September 2019, Arete Quartet passed unanimously the Kumho Art Hall Young chamber concert audition the same year and made its debut in September 2020 at Kumho Art Hall Yonsei University. After studying with Jaeyoung Kim, first violin of the Novus Quartet, the young quartet performed in various venues in Korea before moving to Munich, Germany, to study with Crisoph Poppen at the Hoschule für Musik und Theater. 

During its young career as a quartet, the Arete Quartet has already won a number of important prizes: First prize at the Prague Spring International Music Competition (2021), First prize at the Salzburg Mozart International Competition (2023) and First prize at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition (2024). 

At the 2024 Premio Paolo-Borciani Competition in Reggio Emilia, the quartet reached the third round but was unable to continue performing due to a medical emergency. 

Nevertheless, the jury of the Premio Paolo-Borciani Competition awarded the quartet a special prize for 'the unique voice it showed during the first three rounds of the 2024 Premio Paolo-Borciani'. In addition, the Fondazione | Teatri and ProQuartet European Chamber Music Centre announced their support for the Arete Quartet at this complex moment. 

Website: https://linkbio.co/aretequartet
Facebook: Arete String Quartet
Instagram: aretequartet
YouTube: Arete Quartet

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76, No. 4 in B flat Major
György Kurtág: Six Moments Musicaux, Op. 44 (2005)

Romantic Round
Robert Schumann: String Quartet Op. 41, No. 1

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887 – Allegro molto moderato
Alban Berg: Lyric Suite

Finals
Benjamin Britten: Three Divertimenti for String Quartet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K 465 – Adagio - Allegro
Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”

Francis Yiu-Ting Chik (he/him) - violin, Hong Kong
Hiu-Sing Fan (he/him) - violin, Hong Kong
Caleb Wong (he/him) - viola, Hong Kong
Yan-Ho Cheng (he/him) - cello, Hong Kong

Formed at the Indiana University in 2015, Cong Quartet recently served the 2023 artistic residency of Musique à Flaine and was the Ensemble-in-Residence at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) from 2019-22. The quartet is part of the Nederlandse Strijkkwartet Academie (NSKA), a musical partner of Domaine de La Garde in France, and a member of Le Dimore del Quartetto in Italy.

Drawing from the mentorship of the Pacifica Quartet at Jacobs School of Music, Ivan Chan at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Quatuor Danel and Quatuor Ysaÿe in Europe, Cong Quartet's journey was fueled by top prize wins at the likes of 2024 International Music Competition Triomphe de l'Art in Brussels, 2022 Virtuoso & Belcanto's Chamber Music Competition in Italy, and several other international chamber music competitions. The quartet has participated in many chamber music festivals & institutes, such as the Accademia Internazionale di Musica di Cagliari, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, Robert Mann String Quartet Institute, Heifetz International Music Institute, Encore Chamber Music, the Harpa International Music Academy, Madeline Island Chamber Music, Music in PyeongChang, the Ozawa International  Chamber Music Academy, as well as the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) and Musethica. They have performed with world-renowned artists such as the Borromeo Quartet, Quatuor Danel, Yovan Markovitch, Enrico Pace & Yuri Bashmet among many others. 

Cong Quartet believes that the humanistic experience of chamber music is a treasure to the community and shares the philosophy of promoting chamber repertoire from their cultural background. 

Website: congquartet.com
Facebook: Cong Quartet
Instagram: congquartet

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 33, No. 2 in E flat Major
Lawrence Dillon: String Quartet No. 7, Consensus (2019)

Romantic Round
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804 – Allegro ma non troppo
Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”

Finals
Chen Gang (arr. Jiang Yiwen): Morning in the Miao Mountain
Adrian Wong: Childhood Sweet - Black & White
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 in E flat Major, Op. 74

David Petrlik (he,him) - violin, France
Yoan Brakha (he, him) - violin, France
Hortense Fourrier (she, her) - viola, France
Rémi Carlon (he,him) - cello, France

Founded in 2017, the Elmire Quartet was warded Second Prize at the prestigious Geneva Competition, as well as the special Fondation Etrillard Prize for the remarkable artistic project. 

The quartet has already performed in major venues such as the Philharmonie de Paris, Victori Hall in Geneva, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, and La Grange au Lac in Évian. Guided by the mentorship of the Modigliani, Ysaÿe, Belcea, and Ébène quartets, the Elmire Quartet is a resident artist at the Singer-Polignac Foundation, the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, a ProQuartet grand resident, a Spedidam Generation Artist, and a laureate of the Banque Populaire Foundation. 

Recently, the Elmire Quartet has performed at the prestigious Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the 30th La Folle Journée in Nantes, Salle Cortot, the Tokyo International Forum, MUCH Music Chapel in Waterloo, the International Festival of La Roque d’Anthéron, and the Philharmonie de Paris. 

Website: quatuor-elmire.com
Facebook: Quatuor Elmire
Instagram: quatuor_elmire

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76, No. 5 
Pascal Dusapin: String Quartet No. 5 (2004-2005)

Romantic Round
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 44

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 in C Major – Andante con moto – Allegro vivace
Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67

Finals
Héloïse Werner: Incantation in four parts
Anton Webern: Six Bagatelles for String Quartet 
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 2 in E minor

Gyurim Kwak (she/her) - violin, South Korea
Fuga Miwatashi (she/her/ - violin, Japan
Simon Rosier (he/him) - viola, the Netherlands
Tzu-Shao Chao (he/him) - Cello, Taiwan

The Quartett HANA was founded in 2019 at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts (HMTM). The name of the quartet reflects the home countries of its members: "HANA" means "flower" in Japanese and "unity" in Korean. 

They are prize winner at multiple competitions, such as the Geneva International Music Competition 2023, where they received the 2nd prize. Furthermore, they won the 3rd prize at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition in Berlin. In 2024 they took part at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition Academy. 

The quartet has performed with many renowned artists, including Itamar Golan, Sarah McElravy, Francois Kieffer, Margarita Hohenrieder and Michael Enres. Recent performances have been, among others, at the Mozartfest Wurzburg and the Groba Festival in Spain and at the Heidelberger Fruling Streighquartettfest in 2025. 

The quartet has been studying with Prof. Raphael Meriln and the Quatuor Ebene at the HMTM since 2021 and with Prof. Heime Muller at the Musikhochschule Lubeck since 2024. They work regularly with Prof. Eberhard Feltz and Prof. Dirk Mommertz (Fauré Quartett). Furthermore, they have participated in masterclasses by Prof. Oliver Wille and Prof. William Coleman (Kuss Quartett), Prof. Gunter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartett) and Quatuor Voce. 

The two violinists Gyurim Kwak and Fuga Miwatashi alternate in the role of primaria. 

Website: hanaquartet.com
Facebook: Quartett HANA
Instagram: hanaquartett
 

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 74, No. 1 in C Major
Pascal Dusapin: String Quartet No. 5 (2004-2005)

Romantic Round
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 2 in E minor – Allegro
Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 3, Sz.85

Finals
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 20, No. 2 in C Major
Ludwig van Beethoven: Grosse Fugue, Op. 133
Soo Yeon Lyuh: Yessori - Sound from the Past

Taiga Sasaki (he/him) - violin, Japan
Yu Mita (he/him) - violin, Japan
Jiliang Shi (he/him) - viola, China
Hotaka Sakai (he/him)- cello, Japan

The Quartet KAIRI is a Salzburg-based string quartet currently studying under Professor Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartett) and Professor Cibrán Sierra Vázquez (Cuarteto Quiroga) at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. They began working as an ensemble during their studies at the Tokyo College of Music under the guidance of professor Saiko Azuma. 

In winter 2023, Chinese violist Jiliang Shi joined the quartet's founding members: Taigaa Saski, Yu Mita and Hotaka Sakai. 

January 2024, the Quartet KAIRI were invited to collaborate with the Salzburg Marionette Theatre during the "Mozartwoche" Music Festival. Additionally they were also part of the Fuji Mountain Music Festival, during which they performed with a renowned clarinettist Peter Schmidl (Former Principal Clarinetist of the Vienna Philharmoniker).

In Fall 2024, the Quartet KAIRI won first prize at the International Competition "Premio Annarose Taddei" in Rome. 

They also received second prize (first prize not awarded) at the Japan Classical Music Competition in Tokyo.

They have participated in numerous masterclasses by renowned artists such as Günter Pichler during the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and Jonathan Brown at the Guadix International String Quartet Seminar. 

The word "Kairi" (Japanese) can be translated as a sea mile. The name of the quartet represents the strong will to cross human and musical boundaries of the sea and land in order to make music accessible to everyone despite of one's background. They strongly believe in the universality of the musical language that can be "spoken" and understood by each and every one of us. 

Instagram: quartetkairi

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 74, No. 1 in C Major
Toshio Hosokawa: Floral Fairy (2003)

Romantic Round
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 – Allegro 
Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”

Finals
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No. 21 in D Major, K. 575 – Allegretto, Allegretto
Toru Takemitsu: Landscape
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110

Ida Derbesse (she/her) - violin, France-Poland
Elena Watson-Perry (she/her), France-U.S.A
Claire Pass-Lanneau (she/they), France
Fiona Robson (she/her) - cello, Canada

The Quatuor Magenta was founded in 2021 and is already performing on France's most prestigious stages, from the Philharmonie de Paris to the Festival de RadioFrance Montpellier. They were finalists of the 8th Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna and prizewinners at the 2023 FNAPEC competition and the 2022 Zukunftsklang Competition Stuttgart. November 2024 marked the quartet's first international tour to Canada, generously supported by the CNM and SPEDIDAM. 

The Quatuor Magenta is based in Paris, France, where they are junior artist-in-residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation and ensemble-in-residence at Propquartet - CEMC. They have been invited to perform at numerous festivals in France, including the Musikfest Parisienne, the Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Un Temps pour Elles, Un Été en France with Gautier Capuçon and the Quatuor Modigliani's Festival Vibre!, as well as in Switzerland (Festival de la Collégiale in Neuchâtel) and in Germany (Klangraum Konzerte in Cologne). 

Last season, contemporary music had pride of place with Qutauor Magenta's participation in the Kronos Quartet's "50 for the Future" Marathon at the Philharmonie de Paris's String Quartet Biennale. Their 2024/25 season included several octet performances alongside the renowned Quatuor Van Kuijk, in partnership with La Belle Saison. 

The Quatuor Magenta participated in the inaugural year of the Élite program at the École Normale de Paris, under the mentorship of the Quatuor Modigliani. Other important mentors include the Quatuor Ébène, and Rainer Schmidt of the Hagen Quartet. They are grateful for the support of the Safran Foundation and ADAMI. 

Website: quatuormagenta.com
Facebook: Quatuor Magenta
Instagram: @quatuormagenta

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 76, No. 3 in C Major
Pascal Dusapin: String Quartet No. 5 (2004-2005)

Romantic Round
Robert Schumann: String Quartet Op. 41, No. 1

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1 in F Major – Allegro
György Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1, Métamorphoses nocturnes

Finals
Rosy Wertheim: String Quartet
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
Paul Wiancko: Only Ever Us

Juli Mirzoev (she/her) - violin, Canada
Russell Iceberg (he/him) - violin, USA
Cynthia Blanchon (she/her) - viola, France
Braden McConnell (he/him) - cello, USA

The Myriade Quartet was formed at McGill University and is based on Montreal. With members hailing from Canada, the United States and France, the Myriade Quartet was recently selected to take part in the Trondheim and Wigmore Hall international competitions. As artists-in-residence at the Prince Edward County Festival, the quartet has presented lecture-recitals followed by concerts in 2022 in collaboration with Charles Richard-Hamelin, Scott St-John, Angela Park and Sharon Wei of the New Orford Quartet. In their last season, they performed at Kin Musique, the Baptême series, as part of a residency at the Colorado Music Festival and the Unionville Music Academy, and as a senior quartet at the McGill International String Quartet Academy (MISQA). 

The Myriade Quartet was formed under the tutelage of André Roy's, while also receiving valuable guidance from the Danish Quartet, Jerusalem Quartet and Mathieu Herzog, Mark Steinberg, Peter Oundjian, Philip Setzer, Ralph de Souza, Petr Prause, Jeffrey Myers, Richard O'Neill and Ani Kavafian. In the coming months, the Myriade Quartet will record Bartók's Quartet no.2 and Haydn's Quartet op. 74 no.1 with the invaluable support of the Toronto Arts & Letters Club, and perform at Concerts aux Îles du Bic, St Joseph's Church in Montreal and St Bride's Church in London, a concert organized by the Wigmore Hall Competition. 

Website: myriadequartet.com
Instagram: myriadequartet

Competition Repertoire:

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 20, No. 2 in C Major
Joey Roukens: Visions at Sea for String Quartet (2011)

Romantic Round
Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F Major

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 – Allegro 
Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67

Finals
Hugo Wolf: Italian Serenade
Gabriela Lena Frank: Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout – Toyos, Tarqueda, Chasqui, Coqueteos
Antonin Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96

Saskia Niehl (she/her) - violin, Germany
Jeffrey Armstrong (he/him) - violin, South Africa
Grae Leehan (she/her) - viola, New Zealand
Nadja Reich (she/her) - cello, Germany

United by their spontaneous and joyful approach to music-making, the four members of the Nerida Quartet captivate their audiences with an irresistible energy and sincere interpretations. 

A brief initial encounter in chamber music as academists of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen sparked a long-term musical relationship. Their close connection was nurtured during this time by working with a number of great colleagues, conductors and soloists. 

The ensemble's name, inspired by the Nereids of Greek mythology, draws reference to water as a powerful yet flexible element that can constantly take on new forms. 

The Nerida Quartet has been playing in its current form since 2024, achieving remarkable success in a short time. Most recently, the ensemble was awarded third prize at the Irene Steels-Wilsing Quartet Competition. In January 2024, the ensemble was awarded the "Prize of the Federal President" for the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschulwettbewerb 2024. 

Invitations to international music festivals such as the Festival Musikdorf Ernen, Gent Festival van Vlaanderen and the Heidelberger Frühling regularly take the quartet to stages all over Europe. 

The quartet is based in Bremen and is currently enrolled at the HMTM Hannover with Prof. Oliver Wille. It has also received tuition from renowned teachers such as Martin Funda, Patrick Jüdt, members of the Artemis Quartet and Cuarteto Casals, Hatto Beyerle and Johannes Meissl through the renowned European Chamber Music Academy. 

The quartet has been part of the EU-funded MERITA programme since 2023.

Website: www.neridaquartet.com
Facebook: Nerida Quartet
Instagram: neridaquartett
 

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 54, No. 2 in C Major
Caroline Shaw: Entr’acte (2011)

Romantic Round
Felix Mendelssohn: Quartet No. 5 in E flat Major, Op. 44

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887 – Allegro molto moderato 
Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25

Finals
Orlando di Lasso: La nuict froide et sombre
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 – Andante con moto
George Crumb: Black Angels: Thirteen Images of the Dark Land
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Deh hor fossio col vago della luna 

Sarah Ying Ma (she/they) - violin, USA
Max Ball (he/they) - violin, USA
Jasper de Boor (they/them) - viola, USA
Drew Dansby (he/him) - cello, USA

Website: poiesisquartet.com
Facebook: Poiesis Quartet
Instagram: poiesisquartet
Youtube: @PoiesisQuartet

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Sky Macklay: Many Many Cadences (2015)
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 71, No. 2 in D Major

Romantic Round
Johannes Brahms: String Quartet No. 3 in B flat Major, Op. 67

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 in C Major
Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102

Finals
Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate: Pisachi (Reveal) for String Quartet
Brian Raphael Nabors: String Quartet
Joe Hisaishi: String Quartet No. 1 – Phosphorescent Sea
Kevin Lau: String Quartet No. 7

Louisa Staples (she/her) - violin, United Kingdom
Johannes Brzoska (he/him) - violin, Germany
Gordon K.H. Lau (he/him) - viola, Hong-Kong S.A.R
Umut Saglam (he/him) - cello, Turkey

The Viatores Quartet is a young string quartet based in Berlin. In 2024 they were awarded first prize at the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition and the prize of the Freunde Junge Musiker. In 2025, the quartet won second prize at the ISW Foundation String Quartet Competition in Heidelberg. The quartet is increasingly in demand on the concert stage, and has performed at renowned concert venues including the Berlin Philharmonic and Konzerthaus Berlin.

Recent performances include appearances at Villa Musica, Hindemith-Tage, AIMA Festival, Piano Salon Christophori, and Mainau Castle. Upcoming performances will take them to cities such as Cologne, Munich, Düsseldorf, and Trier, as well as to Austria, Turkey, and Great Britain. They will also perform at the Hitzacker Festival in 2025, the Schumann Foundation Frankfurt, and the Schwetzingen Festival in 2026. This year will also see the production and release of their first CD album.

The Viatores Quartet was founded in 2023 at the Hanns Eisler Hfm Berlin. The group is currently studying with Professor Tabea Zimmermann at the HFMDK Frankfurt and at the HMTMH Hannover with Professor Oliver Wille. They have also received artistic guidance from renowned musicians such as Christian Tetzlaff, Nora Chastain, and Areta Zhula of Julliard String Quartet.

The quartet takes its name from the Latin term "Viatores", which means travelers. As the name suggests, the quartet proudly represents four different origins and cultures, united by a common goal.
 

Website: viatoresquartet.com
Instagram: viatoresquartet
Youtube: @viatoresquartet

Competition Repertoire: 

21st Century Haydn Round
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76, No. 2 
Jörg Widmann: Jagdquartett, 3rd String Quartet (2003)

Romantic Round
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10

Canadian Commission Round
Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1 in F Major - Allegro
Paul Hindemith: String Quartet No. 5, Op. 32

Finals
Dimitri Shostakovich: Two Pieces for String Quartet - Elegy 
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 13 in D minor, D. 810  – Andante con moto
Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”
Philip Glass: String Quartet No. 3 “Mishima” – 1957 Award Montage, November 25-Ichigaya, Mishima/Closing