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Competitions

Poiesis Quartet Wins the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition

The 15th Banff International String Quartet Competition reached its magnificent finale on August 31st within the acoustically rich Jenny Belzberg Theatre. The evening featured three exceptional ensembles, each presenting a thoughtfully curated program, before the Poiesis Quartet from Cincinnati, Ohio, was announced as the first-prize winner.

The quartet’s first-prize package includes a CAD $25,000 award and represents a significant career launchpad. It features comprehensive touring engagements across North America with MKI Artists and throughout Europe with Konzertdirektion Hampl. Further elevating their artistic journey, the prize encompasses a professional residency at the Banff Centre, a dedicated recording residency, and the Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize. The ensemble will also enjoy an Esterházy Foundation Residency with a performance in the esteemed Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt, an appearance at the Lucerne Festival, and the possibility of a two-week Chamber Music Residency at Britten Pears Arts in England.
The Poiesis Quartet was also honored with the Canadian Commission Prize, valued at CAD $4,000, for their masterful world premiere performance of the commissioned work, Rapprochement, by Kati Agócs.

The second prize of CAD $12,000 was presented to the Arete Quartet from Seoul, South Korea, while the Quartet KAIRI was awarded the third prize of CAD $8,000. Both quartets will also receive a creative residency at the Banff Centre.

The competition’s jury for the 2025 edition was composed of Eckart Runge, Marie Chilemme, Jonathan Crow, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Honggang Li, Eugene Drucker, and David Ying.

Poiesis Quartet, Cincinnati (First Prize)

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. 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.

Prizes:
First Prize: Poiesis Quartet, Cincinnati 
(Sarah Ying Ma, Max Bell, Jasper de Boor, Drew Dansby)
Second Prize: Arete Quartet (Seoul)
(Chaeann Jeon, Eunjoong Park, Yoonsun Jang, Seonghyeon Park)
Third Prize: Quartet KAIRI (Salzburg)
(Taiga Sasaki, Yu Mita, Jiliang Shi, Hotaka Sakai)

Jury: 
Eckart Runge, Marie Chilemme, Jonathan Crow, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Honggang Li, Eugene Drucker,  David Ying

Arete Quartet, Seoul (Winner of the Second Prize)

For nearly 40 years, Banff International String Quartet Competition has celebrated the art of chamber music while providing career support for emerging string quartets. Intended as a one-time special event, the first competition was held in 1983 to mark the 50th anniversary of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. The outstanding success of the first competition inspired organizers to make this a triennial event.
In 2017, the Banff International String Quartet Festival commenced in non-competition years.  This intimate weekend concert experience offers beautifully curated opportunities to hear laureates from the competitions in unique collaborations with other world-renowned musicians. 
BISQC is committed to fostering career development with competition laureates through touring, residencies, coaching, collaborations, and recordings, as well as supporting opportunities for youth with mentoring programs.
All of these activities - competition, festival and career development - aim to provide opportunities for musicians and audience alike, inspired by the beautiful setting of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in the Canadian Rockies.
 

©WFIMC 2025
Images: ©BISCQ