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Photo: Stuart Lowe

Rising Stars | Mira Kardan – Shean Strings Competition

By Kaitlyn Chan on 4 October 2025 Interviews, Strings

“There is really nothing I love more than spending time with my cello,” says Mira Kardan. The young cellist grew up with two musician parents who, through their dedication to the arts, encouraged Kardan to pave her own path as a musician. With their support and guidance, she has discovered one of her greatest passions in life. Earlier this year, the American cellist competed at the 2025 Shean Strings Competition with a program featuring works by Bach, Ligeti, Debussy, Popper, and Shostakovich. “It was really exciting to prepare a program that was completely diverse, not one work similar to another,”…

Photo: Stuart Lowe

Rising Stars | Daria Schibitcaia – Sylva Gelber

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 October 2025 Interviews, Strings, Violin

Alongside a 2025 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation award, violinist Daria Schibitcaia also earned herself the Walter Prystawski Prize. The young musician doesn’t take the prize for granted, emphasizing her gratitude and excitement for what she can now pursue with the foundation’s support. “This year feels like a big turning point for me, as I’ll be deciding where in the world I want to pursue my next degree,” Schibitcaia says. The Moldovan-born violinist is currently completing her Artist Diploma at The Glenn Gould School, studying with violinists Barry Shiffman and Erika Raum. Though she began playing violin and piano at the…

The Isidore String Quartet. Photo: Jiyang Chen

Review | Isidore String Quartet Steps on Some Toes at LMMC

By Jan Krejcar on 1 October 2025 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Strings

The Ladies’ Morning Music Club (LMMC) has a somewhat anachronistic name, betraying its founding more than 100 years ago. It grew out of a need to satisfy Montreal’s thirst for music, and the organization has long shepherded the musical taste of the metropolis by bringing in major solo artists and chamber groups. Their concert series have been particularly important in facilitating this city’s relationship with the string quartet, and the Sunday afternoon performance of the Isidore String Quartet on Sept. 28th in Oscar Peterson Hall was another page in that story. The quartet, returning to Montreal after their success here…

LMMC at 134: A Season of Debuts and Returns

By Wah Keung Chan on 4 September 2025 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Montreal, Piano, Strings

Montreal’s Ladies’ Morning Musical Club (LMMC) is entering its 134th season, and this volunteer-led committee continues to offer Montrealers access to the world’s finest chamber music. Generations of artists have graced its stage; for musicians, an LMMC appearance is an honour. For audiences, it’s Sunday afternoon delight, now for its second season at Oscar Peterson Hall on Concordia’s west end Loyola campus, while its usual venue, McGill’s Pollack Hall is being renovated. This year’s lineup blends legends, fresh voices, and programs designed to surprise as much as satisfy. Here are the LMMC’s five fall offerings. September 7: Alban Gerhardt &…

CMIM Announces Jury & Guest Conductor for 2026 Edition – Violin

By Newswire on 3 September 2025 Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, Strings, Violin

Montréal, September 3, 2025 – Virtuosity, intensity, and passion will converge in Montréal from May 27 to June 4, 2026, for the next edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM). Applications are now open for the 24th edition of the Concours, dedicated to the violin. Following a rigorous process of evaluation, 24 of the best violinists of the new generation from around the world will be invited to Montréal to take part in the 2026 edition of the Concours. They will perform at Salle Bourgie and Maison symphonique de Montréal before a prestigious jury, measure themselves against the…

Tafelmusik and Rachel Podger: Love at First Bow

By Viktor Lazarov on 3 September 2025 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Classical Music, Orchestral, Strings, Toronto

Flying across bridges of time spread over ornate baroque landscapes, bellicose classical terrains, early romantic gardens, and idiosyncratic 21st-century reliefs, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra travels at a speed precious few ensembles could match. Three years short of a 50th anniversary, the Toronto-based ensemble opens their 2025-26 season with a star-studded cast of guest directors and soloists. “We’re starting our second season with Rachel Podger as principal guest director,” says violist Brandon Chui, one of Tafelmusik’s three artistic directors. Building on a decade-long symbiotic relationship, Tafelmusik and Podger kick off with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, one of the most recognizable…

Poiesis Quartet at the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2025). Photo: Rita Taylor/Courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Report | BISQC Makes Strong Statement With Poiesis

By Bill Rankin on 2 September 2025 Classical Music, Music Competition, Strings, West

The fifteen Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) jury made what many would say was a bold decision to award first prize to an American quartet that eschews the trappings of a traditional string quartet and champions both new music and their own LGBTQ identities, unreservedly. The Poiesis Quartet, formed at Oberlin College four years ago, are BISQC’s new ambassadors, and they will enjoy career-changing support for the next three years, including professional management in North America and Europe, several significant residencies in the U.S. and abroad, a recording, and guaranteed appearances at dozens of concert venues. They also won…

Arete Quartet at the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2025). Photo: Rita Taylor/Courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Report | Banff International String Quartet Competition Finale Launch

By Bill Rankin on 1 September 2025 Classical Music, Music Competition, Strings, West

At 1 a.m. MDT Sunday Aug. 31, the Banff International String Quartet announced via email that the seven-person jury had selected three quartets to go on to the finals on Sunday afternoon. This was notwithstanding the use of a mathematical system to tabulate the cumulative scores from the judges’ assessments of the nine quartets in the initial four rounds. The system was meant to streamline the decision-making process and ideally, minimize heated discussions over who to advance. It still took more than two hours from the time the Cong Quartet finished playing Janáček’s String Quartet No. 1 in the fourth,…

Poiesis Quartet. Photo: Rita Taylor, courtesy of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Newswire | American Poiesis Quartet Wins 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC)

By Newswire on 31 August 2025 Music Competition, Newswire, Strings, West

BANFF, AB, CANADA, AUGUST 31, 2025 – Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada and is thrilled to announce the Poiesis Quartet from Cincinnati, USA was awarded the grand prize of the 15th triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC): Sarah Ying Ma (she/they) on violin, Max Ball (he/they) on violin, Jasper de Boor (they/them) on viola, and Drew Dansby (he/him) on cello. Widely recognized as one of the most prestigious global platforms for emerging quartets, BISQC offers one of the largest prizes in chamber music—valued at over $500,000 CAD—with the potential to shape a quartet’s artistic…

Quartet HANA at Banff International String Quartet Competition. Photo: Rita Taylor, Courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Review | New Kati Agócs commission at Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC)

By Bill Rankin on 30 August 2025 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, La Scena Online, Music Competition, Strings, West

The nine quartets competing for more than $500,000 worth of cash and career development support at the 15th Banff International String Quartet Competition were all asked on Friday morning (Aug. 29) to perform Kati Agócs’ new nine-minute string quartet, Rapprochement, her third piece in the genre. All nine had had an opportunity to discuss their interpretations of the new work during the competition week with the composer. They received her score in May. Agócs writes in her performance notes for the score: “Slurs, dynamic shaping, and articulative markings are suggested only. They are meant as a starting point and can…

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