The Glenn Gould School’s Dior Quartet to Compete in Prestigious Banff International String Quartet C

The Dior Quartet, the 2021-22 Quartet in Residence at The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School (GGS), has been announced as one of 10 finalists invited to compete at the distinguished 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) this summer.

BISQC is recognized as one of the premier chamber music competitions in the world and the largest event of its kind. It is a career accelerator for all invited ensembles, thanks to its unparalleled exposure to concert presenters, managers, and broadcasters from North America.

The Dior Quartet was formed in 2018 at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, under the tutelage of the Pacifica Quartet, and includes Noa Sarid and Tobias Elser (violins), Caleb Georges (viola), and Joanne Yesol Choi (Alumna of The Taylor Academy and 2021-22 Rebanks Fellow, cello).

“The Dior Quartet is so incredibly focused and hardworking – I’m immensely proud to see how they have risen to the challenge of being among a very select group to compete in Banff,” said James Anagnoson, Dean of The Glenn Gould School. “This competition has been credited with launching the careers of many deserving young string quartets, so this is a very exciting opportunity for them.”

For more than 30 years, the BISQC competition has celebrated the art of chamber music while providing career support for emerging string quartets. It is open to quartets of all nationalities whose members are all under the age of 35, and selections are made by a preliminary jury of internationally celebrated musicians. The 10 finalists, amongst the world’s best, will vie for over $500,000 CAD in cash, prizes and opportunities, including the Christine and David Anderson Prize of $5,000 CAD for each of the seven quartets not advancing to finals.

The 10 competing quartets will be (in alphabetical order):

• Abeo Quartet – USA
• Animato Kwartet – The Netherlands/Norway
• Balourdet Quartet – USA
• Dior Quartet – Israel/USA/Korea/Canada/St. Lucia
• Isidore String Quartet – USA
• Karski String Quartet – Poland/Belgium
• Opus13 – Norway/Sweden
• Quatuor Agate – France
• Sonoro Quartet – Belgium/Ireland
• Terra String Quartet – USA/Venezuela/Iceland/Australia

In addition to generous cash prizes, the laureate quartets are offered residency opportunities at Banff Centre and, for the first-prize laureates, a custom-designed three-year artistic and career development program which includes the Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize, a two-year paid residency worth C$200,000, an Esterházy Foundation Residency with concerts at Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt and the Lucerne Festival, as well as an opportunity for a two-week Chamber Music in Residency at the prestigious Britten Pears Arts in England.

The announcement was made via live stream on The Violin Channel, and the competition will be held August 29 to September 4, 2022, at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta.

For more information on the competition and preliminary jury, and how to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.banffcentre.ca/bisqc

Watch The Dior Quartet perform a recent concert in Koerner Hall here.