Audubon Quartet

Audubon Quartet

Renowned for their "strikingly beautiful, luminescent" sound (New York Times), the Audubon Quartet has won acclaim throughout the world for nearly 30 years. Founded in 1974, the ensemble quickly achieved international recognition by winning top prizes in three major competitions in their first four years together: The International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France (1977); The String Quartet Competition at the Festival Villa Lobos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1977); and in 1979, The International String Quartet Competition in Portsmouth, England. They were the first American string quartet ever to win a first prize in international string quartet competition.

The Quartet performs in the major concert halls throughout North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. In 1981, the Quartet made a groundbreaking three-week tour of Mainland China at the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Culture, the first American quartet ever to visit the People's Republic of China.

Other special appearances include a performance at the White House for President Carter in honor of the Evian Competition prize, and an inauguration performance for Pennsylvania's Governor Richard Thornburgh. In addition, the Audubon Quartet has performed regularly on the BBC in London and made numerous other radio and television appearances, including NPR Performance Today and CBS Sunday Morning. The Audubon Quartet has enjoyed a 20-year summer association with the Chautauqua Institution (NY) and an even longer association of 30 years with the Music at Gretna (PA) Festival. They have also appeared as guests in numerous other national and international summer music festivals.

In addition to performing most of the classic chamber music repertoire, the Quartet has regularly premiered and programmed new works by a culturally diverse community of contemporary composers. To date, the Audubon Quartet has given 23 world premieres.

The Audubon Quartet came into existence at the 1974 session of the Lenox Quartet Chamber Music Seminar held in Binghamton, New York. Since that time, the Quartet has been invited to teach at seminars of leading music schools and universities around the world.