SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2024 · 3 PM

BALOURDET QUARTET

THE BAKER-BAUM CONCERT HALL
Musical Prelude · 2 PM
Featuring students from The Colburn School

Winners, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award
Gold Medal, 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition

Angela Bae, violin
Justin DeFilippis, violin
Benjamin Zannoni, viola
Russell Houston, cello

The Balourdet Quartet, based in Boston, Massachusetts, are past LJMS Fellowship Artists and are currently in residence at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program. The quartet received the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, as well as prizes in international competitions including the Banff, Paolo Borciani, and Carl Nielsen competitions. They were also awarded the Gold Medal at the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition.

Highlights of the Balourdet’s 2022–23 season include appearances at Chamber Music Detroit, the Grand Piano Series in Naples, FL, NEC’s Jordan Hall, Merkin Hall, and Wigmore Hall. Summer 2022 also saw the Balourdet performing at festivals including at Bravo! Vail, Music Mountain, and Strings Music Festival. Additionally this season, the quartet is thrilled to premiere a new commissioned work by celebrated composer Karim Al-Zand, made possible through Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant.

The Balourdet has performed at festivals and series including Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society Summerfest, the Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Montgomery Chamber Music, Santa Fe ProMusica, and the Schneider Concert Series. Committed to sharing their musical values with the next generation, the quartet has given masterclasses and coachings at New England Conservatory Preparatory Department, Fischoff Chamber Music Academy, Upper Valley Chamber Music, Wright State University, as well as a residency teaching and performing at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival.

The Balourdet Quartet was formed in 2018 at Rice University in Houston, Texas under the tutelage of James Dunham, Norman Fischer, and Cho-Liang Lin. It currently works primarily with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory, as well as Miriam Fried and members of the Cleveland and Borromeo Quartets.

The quartet takes its name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community.

MOZART
String Quartet No. 15 in D Minor, K.421

KARIM AL-ZAND
Strange Machines

BEETHOVEN
String Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59