An exciting, world-class ensemble, Vancouver-based Borealis String Quartet will begin the Quadra Cultural Committee’s 2014/15 season on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Quadra Community Centre.
Described as one of the most dynamic ensembles of its generation, Borealis has been highly praised for its fiery performances, passionate style and refined musical interpretation. Founded in 2000, the Borealis String Quartet is made up of violinists Patricia Shih and Yuel Yawney, violist Nikita Pogrebnoy and cellist Bo Peng. Award-winning musicians all, they perform on a quartet of very old and finely crafted Italian stringed instruments on loan from one of the leading stringed instrument collectors in the world: the CHIMEI Culture Foundation. The Rogeri violin dated 1698 and the Storioni violin dated 1780, as well as the Storioni cello dated 1778, were originally crafted in Cremona, Italy. The Mantegazza viola is from Milano, dated 1791.
In its short career, the Borealis String Quartet has toured internationally and performed to sold-out audiences in major cities of the world from New York to Rome to Beijing.
Borealis was invited to play at the Aboriginal Pavilion during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, and more recently, has established ties with Asia, touring and teaching in Taiwan.
Quartet-in-Residence at UBC for more than ten years, its most recent residency has been at the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Italy.
Beginning this fall, Borealis will be Quartet in Residence at Kwantlen University in Langley.
Performing for such dignitaries as the Dali Lama and the Prime Minister of Canada, Borealis was the only classical group to be selected for the Great Canadian Dream competition televised across the nation.
Among other awards, Borealis’ most recent album was nominated for the prestigious Golden Melody Award in Asia
Following a performance in Calgary, the Calgary Herald wrote: “With its intense, focused style of playing, drawing the maximum expression from every phrase, the quartet presents itself as a group of star players, the energy radiating from them like the stars.”
Let the Borealis String Quartet be your Thanksgiving treat and get your tickets at Inspirations (formerly Hummingbird Office and Art Supply) in the Cove and at Works of H’Art in Heriot Bay or at the Music Plant in Campbell River.
Advance tickets are $17; tickets at the door are $20.
Students 16 and under are free with an adult.
For more information, call 250-285-3069 or visit the artists’ website at www.borealisstringquartet.com or visit www.borealisstringquartet.com.