On June 15, 16, and 17, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival audiences will discover the Terra String Quartet, fresh from winning the Bronze Medal at the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. They will perform Beethoven’s F-major Quartet, with its second movement inspired by Romeo and Juliet’s tomb scene; they will delight in the “symphonic” sound of César Franck’s Piano Quintet in F minor, a work that expresses Franck’s unfulfilled love for his young composition student, Augusta Holmès; and on Closing Night, they will experience Britten’s second String Quartet, a work considered one of the most important string quartets of the 20th century.
The Terra String Quartet is a vibrant young international ensemble based in New York City. Chamber music audiences will remember them as one of the finalists of the 2022 Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition at the Ebenezer Theater, in Easton, MD. They went on to win the Gold Medal and the Grand Prize of the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition at the University of Notre Dame.
They are composed of graduates of The Juilliard School’s prestigious Honors Chamber Music Program, The New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and the Manhattan School of Music. Their name is a nod to their multicultural origins – together, this foursome represents five continents and speaks six languages.
Terra String Quartet: (L-R) Ramón Carrero-Martínez, viola; Harriet Langley, violin; Audrey Chen, cello; and Amelia Dietrich, violin. (Photo by Ishan Thakore)
Praised for their “remarkable maturity and musicality” and “superb ensemble playing” (Hyde Park Herald, Chicago), these four musicians, through their unique individuality as artists, are committed to infusing the string quartet repertoire with equal parts passion, vitality, and humor. They craft programs to tell a unique tale about the people, places, and ideas behind great works of the past and masterpieces of the present.
Commenting on their performances at the Festival, the Quartet stated, ”We are excited to share works by Beethoven, Britten, and Franck with everyone! Beethoven’s quartet is a joy to explore. The Britten quartet looks back in time, both far, with elements borrowed from Baroque and Neoclassical structures, and near, having been written in the shadow of WWII. It is a privilege to explore the unique language of each composer paying tribute to their artistic forefathers and making sense of their surroundings.”
TSQ has performed at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, at Alice Tully Hall as part of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ “Wednesdays at One” series. They also participated in the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival’s Winter Workshop in North Carolina, where they performed with renowned pianist Robert McDonald, also featured during Week 1 of the Festival, June 9-11. Their mentors and coaches include Ara Gregorian and Hye-Jin Kim, also featured in the Festival, as well as Catherine Cho, the Festival co-Artistic Director.
TSQ is a member of Le Dimore del Quartetto in Italy, a creative cultural enterprise that supports international young chamber music ensembles at the beginning of their career, and is the first quartet to have been chosen to participate in the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival’s Professional Fellowship Program at East Carolina University. They will compete in the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in July and perform at the Emilia Romagna Festival (Italy) in August.
When these accomplished musicians are not making music, they engage in hobbies as varied as power walking and tea appreciation (Harriet Langley, violin), cooking and interior design (Amelia Dietrich, violin), chess, and salsa dancing (Ramón Carrero-Martínez, viola) and drawing and making greeting cards (Audrey Chen, cello). They will touch your heart, as many found out at their Competition performance.
Details on the 2023 Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival can be found at chesapeakemusic.org/festival.
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