Photo by Eden Davis
The Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) is committed to fostering career development with laureates through touring, residencies, coaching, collaborations, and recording activities. With the triennial competition, a festival in non-competition years, and ongoing career development initiatives, BISQC offers enriching experiences for both musicians and audiences, all set against the inspiring backdrop of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in the Canadian Rockies.
BISQC is proud of the many partnerships developed with concert presenters across Europe and North America who have supported laureates by providing performance opportunities for audiences world-wide. BISQC 2025 laureates Poiesis Quartet will now embark on concert tours arranged in Europe by Konzertdirection Hampl and in North America by MKI Artists.
Current tours periods for BISQC 2025 laureates Poiesis Quartet include:
- Europe in January/February 2026, September 2026, January 2027, June/July 2027
- North America March 2026, July/August 2026, October 2026, January/February 2027
- Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity for BISQFest September 2027 and BISQC August/September 2028
Upcoming Concerts
In addition to BISQC Winner's Tour concerts, the Poiesis Quartet have many other performances through their management - we are pleased to share all their concert details to keep you informed of their many engagements:
APRIL
April 6 | Lincoln Memorial University, TN
Works by Jerod Tate, Michi Wiancko, Kevin Lau, and Eleanor Alberga
April 10 | Kaufman Music Centre, New York, NY
with Amiri Harewood, piano
April 24 | Cohen Theatre, Cincinnati, OH
Oberlin Commission Project premieres
April 26 | New York, NY
GatherNYC
April 26 | New York, NY
Lyrical Libations
MAY
May 3 | Caramoor Center, Katonah, NY
Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence
May 31 | Olin Hall, Bard College, NY
Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle
JUNE
June 26–27 | Rockport Music
Details to follow
Past Concerts
FEBRUARY
February 1 | Bakst Theatre, Evergreen Museum & Library, Baltimore, MD
Music at Evergreen
February 8 | Port Townsend, WA
Port Townsend Chamber Music Series
MARCH
March 4–6 | North American Tour
March 5 | Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
March 7 | Fullerton, CA
Fullerton Friends of Music
March 8 | Stanford, CA
Stanford LIVE!
March 11 | Warner Concert Hall, Oberlin, OH
Love Letter: OCP World Premieres
March 13 | London, ON
The Jeffrey Concerts
March 14 | Waterloo, ON
Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society
March 15 | Hamilton, ON
Chamber Music Hamilton
Europe
In Europe, BISQC has concert agreements in principle with:
- Strijkkwartet Biënnale, Amsterdam, NL
- Kammermusik Basel, Basel, CH
- Konzerthaus Berlin, Berlin, DE
- University of Bonn, Bonn, DE
- Konzertverein Bozen, Bozen, IT
- Meran Musik, Meran IT
- Philharmonische Gesellschaft, Bremen, DE
- Bruchsaler Schlosskonzerte, Bruchsal, DE
- Flagey, Brussels, BE
- Herbstgold Festival, Eisenstadt, AT
- Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, DE
- Rheingau Musik Festival, DE
- Stadt Fulda, Fulda, DE
- Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, DE
- Wigmore Hall, London, UK
- Esterházy Foundation, Eisenstadt, AT
- Lucerne Festival, Lucerne, CH
- Philharmonie, Paris, FR
- Mozarteum, Salzburg, AT
- KunstFreunde, Wiesloch, DE
- Philharmonie, Essen, DE
- Kammermusik-Gemeinde, Hannover, DE
- Deutschlandfunk, Cologne, DE
- Beethoven-Haus, Bonn, DE
- Wurzburg, Mozartfest, DE
North America
In North America, BISQC has concert agreements in principle with:
- Victoria Summer Music Festival, Victoria, BC
- White Rock Concerts, Surrey, BC
- ArtSpring, Salt Spring Island, BC
- Calgary Pro Musica, Calgary, AB
- The Jeffery Concerts, London, ON
- Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Montreal, QC
- Stanford Live, Stanford, CA
- Friends of Chamber Music, Troy, NY
- Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Rockport, MA
- Fullerton Friends of Music, Fullerton, CA
- Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, Waterloo, ON
- Chamber Music Hamilton, Hamilton, ON
- Cheboygan Area Arts Council, Cheboygan, MI
- Billings Symphony, Billings, MT
- Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
- Port Townsend Chamber Music Series, Port Townsend, WA
- Banff International String Quartet Festival, Banff, AB
- Music in the Morning, Vancouver, BC
- Chamber Music Kelowna, Kelowna, BC
- The Coast Recital Society, Sechelt, BC
- Kaslo Concert Society, Kaslo, BC
- Lyell Gustin Recital Series, Saskatoon, SK
- Toronto Summer Music Festival, Toronto, ON
- Cecilia Concerts, Halifax, NS
- Edmonton Chamber Music Society, Edmonton, AB
- Friends of Chamber Music, Vancouver, BC
- Cecilian Chamber Series, Regina SK
- Friends of Chamber Music, Vancouver BC
- Seattle Chamber Music Society, Seattle WA
- Maple Ridge Music Society, BC
- Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City UT
Meet the Poiesis Quartet
Photo by Eden Davis
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
The Poiesis Quartet is the 2023 Grand Prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and winner of the 2024 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Within eight months of their founding at Oberlin Conservatory, they also received Fischoff's Lift Every Voice Prize as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. Poiesis has toured internationally, including in Uruguay in 2023, as well as Italy in 2024 for a residency at the Emilia Romagna Festival. As an ensemble passionate about new music, the recent release of their debut album as we are on the Bright Shiny Things label features world premiere recordings of works by Clint Needham and Richard Stout alongside mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby. In the 2024-25 season, they also served as ensemble-in-residence with concertnova, a collective presenting multi-sensorial and multi-disciplinary concert experiences, where they collaborated with composer Sarah Hannies, violinist Benjamin Beilman, and visual artist XUAN. The Poiesis Quartet is the current Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music studying with the Ariel Quartet. As graduates of Oberlin Conservatory, they were previously mentored by Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica Quartet and the Verona Quartet.
The name Poiesis is derived from the ancient Greek word ποιεῖν, which means "to make". Poiesis seeks to program music of all styles and genres with an emphasis on platforming works by emerging and underrepresented composers, creating unique moments of synchronicity and verve in each performance.
Website: poiesisquartet.com
Facebook: Poiesis Quartet
Instagram: poiesisquartet
Youtube: @PoiesisQuartet
To partner with BISQC, contact BISQC Manager Lisa Ramsey at bisqc@banffcentre.ca.