Aizuri Quartet

The Aizuri Quartet has established a unique position within today’s musical landscape, infusing its music-making with infectious energy, joy, and warmth. The ensemble cultivates curiosity in listeners and invites audiences into the concert experience through its innovative programming and the depth and fire of its performances.

Praised by The Washington Post for “astounding” and “captivating” performances that draw from its notable “meld of intellect, technique and emotions,” the Aizuri Quartet was named the recipient of the 2022 Cleveland Quartet Award by Chamber Music America, and was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition. The Quartet's debut album, Blueprinting, featuring new works written for the Aizuri Quartet by five American composers, was released by New Amsterdam Records to critical acclaim (“In a word, stunning” —I Care If You Listen), nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award, and named one of NPR Music’s Best Classical Albums of 2018. Aizuri Quartet’s follow-up to Blueprinting will be released in 2023 on Azica Records.

The Aizuri Quartet continues its innovative approach to programming into the 2022-23 season, with programs creatively juxtaposing the old and the new: such as Sunrise, which pairs Tanya Tagaq’s Sivunittinni with Haydn; or Song Emerging, pairing Schumann’s first quartet with the Aizuri Songbook; or The Art of Translation, featuring art-inspired works by Paul Wiancko, Lembit Beecher and Hannah Kendall to set the stage for Schubert’s Death and the Maiden.

The Aizuris believe in an integrative approach to music-making, in which teaching, performing, writing, arranging, curation, and role in the community are all connected. In 2020 the ensemble launched AizuriKids, a free online series of educational videos for children that uses the string quartet as a catalyst for creative learning and features themes such as astronomy, American history, and cooking. These vibrant, whimsical, and interactive videos are lovingly produced by the Aizuris and are paired with activity sheets to inspire further exploration.