Join us on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 3:00 pm to enjoy a performance by the Balourdet Quartet. This is their third appearance at these concerts.
Program
| Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | String Quartet No. 23 in F major, K. 590 | 1790 |
| Karim Al-Zand | Strange Machines (String Quartet No. 4) | 2022 |
| Intermission | ||
| Ludwig van Beethoven | String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 | 1826 |
About the Ensemble
The celebrated Balourdet Quartet produces both emotionally intense and intimate moments on international stages. Its unique closeness and willingness to take creative risks earned it the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, as well as Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award. Currently based in Bloomington, the Balourdet Quartet is the Graduate String Quartet in Residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. They also serve as the String Quartet in Residence with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle in North Carolina.
The Balourdet journey began in 2018 in the mountains of New Mexico at the Taos School of Music, where violinists Justin DeFilippis, Angela Bae, and cellist Russell Houston first bonded as friends over long evenings of chamber music, luxurious Peppermint Schnapps and extravagant meals created by chef extraordinaire Antoine Balourdet, a renaissance man with an exceptional love of life and music. It was the friendships, a shared passion for music and food, and gratitude for the role the festival played in the formation of the quartet, that inspired the members to name the ensemble in Chef Balourdet’s honor.
Soon thereafter, in the heat of a waning Texas summer, Justin, Angela, and Russell joined with violist Benjamin Zannoni at Rice University, and the Balourdet Quartet was formed. Inspired by their love for the repertoire and the excitement of having found each other, the four friends found themselves playing quartets late into the night for fun. After having been together for only one year at Rice University, and a summer at the Aspen Music Festival, they took second prize at the Nielsen International String Quartet Competition, and were selected as the only quartet admitted to Boston’s historic New England Conservatory Professional String Quartet Program under the tutelage of Cleveland Quartet cellist Paul Katz.
In 2021, the Quartet won the Grand Prize at New York’s Concert Artists Guild Competition, which included joint management by Concert Artists Guild in the U.S., and Young Classical Artist’s Trust (YCAT) in the UK and Europe. In addition, the Balourdet has been prizewinners in Canada’s Banff International String Quartet Competition, the International Premio Paolo Borciani Competition in Italy, Gold Medal winners at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and Gold Medal and Audience Prizewinners at the Yellow Springs Competition.
During the 2023-24 season, the Balourdet had a full year of concerts, residencies, and exciting projects. They returned to the La Jolla Music Society, Montgomery Chamber Music, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, and Schneider Concert Series. Collaborations included pianists Marc-André Hamelin, Simone Dinnerstein, Stewart Goodyear, and violist Jordan Bak. Other highlights include the Balourdet’s debuts at Carnegie and Wigmore Halls, and new string quartets by composers Karim Al-Zand and Paul Novak through grants from Chamber Music America (2021) and the Barlow Foundation (2023).
Angela Bae
Born in Seoul, Korea, violinist Angela Bae has appeared as a soloist in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, and Sydney Town Hall, and when she was 16, she became the youngest ever Concertmaster of the American Youth Symphony in LA. She has won awards in Korea and the United States, including the Korea Times Competition, Alexander and Buono International Competition, and Mika Hasler Competition. As a chamber musician, she has performed with artists including Gil Shaham, Kenneth Goldsmith, Geoffrey Nutall, and Alexander Sitkovetsky.
Ms. Bae is a recent graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music Professional String Quartet Program where she studied with Donald Weilerstein. She also studied with Paul Kantor at Rice University and Phillip Levy in Los Angeles.
Justin DeFilippis
A native of New Jersey, Justin DeFilippis completed his Master’s Degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Cho-Liang Lin, and Bachelor’s at New England Conservatory working with Donald Weilerstein and later with Nicholas Kitchen of the Borromeo String Quartet. Prior to NEC, he attended the Juilliard School Pre-College Division, studying with Elizabeth Chang and graduating with the Commencement Award.
An avid chamber musician, he has coached and played with members of the Brentano, Pacifica, Miro, Shanghai, Cleveland, Dover, and Ying Quartets as well as the Peabody Trio, and has participated in numerous solo and chamber masterclasses with such artists as Leonidas Kavakos, Augustin Hadelich, Ida Kavafian, and members of the Emerson and Juilliard Quartets.
Benjamin Zannoni
A native of Houston, Texas, Benjamin Zannoni has performed around the world and shared the stage with artists such as Ralph Kirshbaum, Elmar Oliveira, Cho-Liang Lin, Anthony McGill and Marc-André Hamelin.
He is a recent graduate from the New England Conservatory and has also received degrees from Rice University, Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School, where he studied with Martha Katz, Mai Motobuchi, James Dunham, Karen Dreyfus, Pinchas Zukerman, Patinka Kopec, Heidi Castleman and Robert Vernon.
Russell Houston
A native of Dallas, Texas, Russell Houston is the winner of the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition and Sorantin International Competition and performed as soloist with orchestras including the Dallas and Plano Symphonies. He has had the privilege of sharing the stage with renowned artists such as Denis Bouriakov, Cho-Liang Lin, Brinton Smith, and members of the Cleveland and Dover Quartets.
He holds degrees from the New England Conservatory, Rice University, Colburn Conservatory, and Northwestern University, where he studied with Paul Katz, Brinton Smith, Clive Greensmith, and Hans Jensen.
About the Concert
This performance begins at 3:00 pm. Join us an hour earlier for a pre-concert discussion about the music on the program. After the performance, you’ll have an opportunity to meet the artists and learn about their backgrounds, interests, and career plans.
The address of the venue is 103 North Road, Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879. Driving time from Providence, Newport, Westerly, and southeastern Connecticut is under an hour, and Kingston Station is only five miles away.
We ask each adult guest attending the concert to make a $40 contribution at the door. We accept cash, personal checks, and credit cards. Checks should be payable to “Core Memory Music”. Children under 18 are welcome to join us free of charge.
Reservations
If you’d like to attend this concert, send us an email with the full name of each person in your party. If seating is still available, we’ll confirm your reservation.
If you can’t attend the concert in person, you’re welcome to listen to our audio livestream (no reservation required).