Banff International String Quartet Festival

Banff International String Quartet Festival is a three-day festival showcasing the finest in international classical music to audiences through a completely immersive experience.

In 2017, the Banff International String Quartet Festival commenced in non-competition years. Led by Director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition Barry Shiffman, the festival features competition alumni alongside special guests exploring repertoire from across the centuries.

Mark your calendars!

BISQFest 2024 will take place August 30 – September 1. 
 

Upcoming On Sale Dates:

April 24: BISQFest 2023  package holders receive priority access to purchase a package option with the same seats they held in 2023.

May 1: BISQC 2022 package holders receive early access to purchase a package option.  BISQFest 2023 passport and package holders can request new seats on this date.

May 8: Package purchases options open to the public.

June 12: Individual concert ticket purchases open to the public.

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2024 Concert Schedule

Over the span of three days, audience members will be immersed in a concert schedule that features some of the finest quartets of our time. Performances, lectures, and shared meals make BISQfest a music-lover's experience you will never forget. 

Friday, August 30

Friday, August 30 | 2:30pm
Rolston Recital Hall

Concert 1

Cheng² Duo
Jean Sibelius: Romance, Op. 78 No. 2
Edvard Grieg: Sonata for Cello and Piano in A minor, Op. 36
Max Bruch: Kol Nidrei, Op. 47
Dinuk Wijeratne: Portrait of the Imagined Sibling

 

Friday, August 30 | 7:30pm
Jenny Belzberg Theatre

Concert 2

Banff Festival Orchestra
Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenberg Concerto No. 3 in G Major BWV 1038

Ehnes Quartet
Banff Festival Orchestra

Edward Elgar: Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Op. 47

James Ehnes, violin
Barry Shiffman, viola
Banff Festival Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E flat Major, K. 364 1

Saturday, August 31

Saturday, August 31 | 10:30am
Rolston Recital Hall

Concert 3

Fifty for the Future
Join Kronos Quartet founder, the legendary David Harrington, as he hosts a program of quartets from the project Fifty for the Future. This monumental project of Kronos Quartet created a new catalogue of works for string quartet, from composers around the world. This program features 5 of these amazing works performed by the festival artists.

 

Saturday, August 31 | 2:30pm
Rolston Recital Hall

Concert 4

Israeli Chamber Project
Itamar Zorman, violin
Guy Ben-Ziony, viola
Tibi Cziger, clarinet
Assaff Weisman, piano

Rebecca Clarke: Dumka for violin, viola and piano
Sebastian Currier: Verge for clarinet, violin and piano
Bohuslav Martinů: Three Madrigals for violin and viola, H. 313
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Kegelstatt Trio for clarinet, viola and piano in E flat Major, K. 498

 

Saturday, August 31 | 4:30pm
Margaret Greenham Theatre

Passholder Event – Artist talk with Time’s Echo author Jeremy Eichler

 

Saturday, August 31 | 7:30pm
Rolston Recital Hall

Concert 5

Isidore String Quartet
Ruth Crawford Seeger: String Quartet

Isidore String Quartet
Andy Milne
, piano
Andy Milne: Chimeric Reveries
*world premiere performance*

Isidore String Quartet
James Ehnes, viola
Edward Arron, cello

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence for String

Sunday, September 1

Sunday, September 1 | 10:30am
Rolston Recital Hall

Concert 6

Ehnes Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59 No. 1
Claude Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10

 

Sunday, September 1 | 2:30pm
Rolston Recital Hall

Concert 7

Jeremy Eichler, concert host, author of Time’s Echo, a book on music, war, and memory

Banff Festival Strings
Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen

 

Sunday, September 1 | 4:30pm

Passholder Event – James Ehnes Masterclass

 

Sunday September 1 | 7:30pm
Rolston Recital Hall

Concert 8

Viano Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4
Samuel Barber: String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11

Viano Quartet
Adrian Fung, cello
Franz Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956

Festival Packages and Tickets

With various options to choose from, we make it easy for you to enjoy every note of the Banff International String Quartet Festival by staying on-site in the comfort of Banff Centre's hotels with full amenities.

Festival Packages

  • 3 or 4 night accommodation options
  • All meals in Vistas Dining Room
  • Reserved seating to all performances
  • Access to all special events with premium seating for Jenny Belzberg Theatre
  • Access to special events
  • Use of on-site fitness, aquatic, and recreation facilities
     

Four-Night Package - arrival Thursday, August 29
Solo: $2115.91
Duo: $3168.20

Three-Night Package - arrival Friday, August 30
Solo: $1714.95
Duo: $2632.19

Note: Duo package pricing includes shared accomodation, plus the meals and tickets for two

 

Passport Package (tickets only)

For audience who want to experience it all but do not require accommodation or meals at Banff Centre, the passport option provides reserved seating to performances and access to special events

$523.95

Packages general sales begin May 8
 

Individual Tickets

Individual tickets go on sale in June.

 

All prices are in Canadian Dollars and include all fees and taxes.

Banff International String Quartet Director - Barry Shiffman

Barry Shiffman is seated on a chair with a violin resting on his knee.

Photo credit: Stuart Lowe

Barry Shiffman enjoys a diverse career as a musician, educator, and administrator. He was co-founder of the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) and currently serves as both the Associate Dean and Director of Chamber Music at Glenn Gould School, and Director of the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. 

During his 17 years with the SLSQ he appeared in over 2,000 concerts in venues around the globe, and recorded several critically acclaimed discs under an exclusive contract with EMI Classics. While with SLSQ, Shiffman served as artistin-residence at Stanford University from 1998 to 2006 and as visiting artist at the University of Toronto from 1995 to 2006. 

Shiffman has also served in numerous roles at Banff Centre, including Director of Music Programs (2006-2010), Artistic Director of Summer Classical Music Programs (2010-2016), and Director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition since 2006. During his tenure at Banff Centre he introduced new programming in classical music performance, composition, popular music, and jazz and oversaw the dramatic growth of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, including the successful launch of the Banff Centre International String Quartet Festival in 2017.

In 2018, Shiffman was appointed Artistic Director of Rockport Music in Massachusetts, overseeing all classical programming for the organization including a five-week summer chamber music festival at the venerable Shalin Liu Performance Center. From 2009-2017, he was Executive Artistic Director of Music in the Morning Concert Society in Vancouver. A sought-after juror, he has served on the violin jury of the Tchaikovsky and Montreal Violin Competitions, and the String Quartet Competitions of London Wigmore Hall, Lyon, and Geneva.

Shiffman received his formal studies at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, University of Toronto, Utrecht Conservatory, Hartt School of Music, Juilliard School, and Yale University. Summer studies included Banff Centre, Tanglewood, and Aspen. He is also  the recipient of the Longy School’s Nadia Boulanger Prize for Excellence in the Art of Teaching, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Calgary.

 

 

Donate

Show your support for young musicians coming to Banff for the next Banff International String Quartet Competition. 

Donate Now

Banff International String Quartet Festival is generously supported by: 

Lead Supporters
Anonymous
Jenny Belzberg Future Fund
Sir Jack Lyons Charitable Trust

Official Media Partner of BISQFest 2024
 

The Violin Channel

Official Shuttle Provider:
 

Banff Airporter

Supported by:

 

 

 

 


Contact Us

For questions please contact:
Email: 
bisqc@banffcentre.ca
Phone: 403.762.6231
Lisa Ramsey, Manager
Jane Russell, Coordinator
107 Tunnel Mountain Drive
Box 1020, Stn. 23
Banff, Alberta
T1L 1H5 Canada