About the Artists

The Pyrenean String Quartet was founded in July of 2020 during the pandemic. They found comfort together as a "pod" making music during this challenging time by exploring works in depth while isolated from most of their other musical  colleagues, friends and family. Throughout the pandemic they performed, live streamed and recorded a number of traditional and contemporary string quartets for Chicago arts organizations including the Fulcrum Point New Music Project and the Chicago Philharmonic. These projects were primarily fund raisers for fellow musicians in need. In 2021 they celebrated Adolphus Hailstork's 80th birthday by performing his first string quartet for him via a Youtube live streaming concert. They were featured at New Music Chicago's Impromptu Fest performing Eleanor Alberga's String Quartet No 3 and later that year recorded a new string quartet called Chants and Antiphons by Lawrence Axelrod for his latest CD.

Group members have participated in workshops and master classes with student and professional composers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago, Merit School of Music, Northeastern Illinois University, DePaul University, Bowling Green University and also under the auspices of Fulcrum Point New Music Project's Discovery series and Picosa.

Stephen Burns, trumpet 


Pyrenean String Quartet

Kate Carter & Rika Seko, violins
Claudia Lasareff-Mironoff, viola
Paula Kosower, violoncello


Special Guests from the Music Institute of Chicago 

Porphyrion String Quartet

Mingshi Xia & Sasha Varchenko, violins,

Neena Agrawal, viola, Simon Updegraff, violoncello


Works by Takemitsu, Haas, Balter, Fung, and Al-Zand


Tickets

General Admission $20
Students $10 (w/student ID)