Juilliard Names Ivalas Quartet as New Graduate Resident String Quartet

August 15, 2022, 6:10 PM · The Ivalas Quartet has been named Juilliard’s graduate resident string quartet, to begin in September 2022. The ensemble, founded in 2017 at the University of Michigan, includes violinists Reuben Kebede and Tiani Butts, violist Aimée McAnulty, and cellist Pedro Sánchez.

The Ivalas Quartet takes the place of the Ulysses Quartet, which recently completed its residence at Juilliard. Other Juilliard graduate string quartets in residence have included the Aeolus, Afiara, Argus, Attacca, Avalon, Biava, Calder, Cassatt, Chiara, Corigliano, Colorado, Essex, Lark, Maia, Magellan (now the Whitman String Quartet), Miro´, St. Lawrence, Shanghai, and Verona.

The Ivalas Quartet was in residence from 2019 to 2022 at the University of Colorado-Boulder, under the mentorship of the Takács Quartet. The Ivalas Quartet has expressly dedicated itself to spotlighting the works of BIPOC composers such as Jessie Montgomery, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Eleanor Alberga. In 2021, the quartet created the first recording of Carlos Simon’s "Warmth From Other Suns" for string quartet.

BELOW: The Ivalas Quartet plays II. Flight from Warmth from Other Suns by Carlos Simon.

As Lisa Arnhold Fellows at Juilliard, the members of the Ivalas Quartet will perform an annual New York recital, which takes place at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2023. They also will coach regularly with the Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ); and participate in the annual Juilliard String Quartet Seminar. They will also assist the JSQ with its ensemble and chamber music instruction, coach other student ensembles, and assist in the freshman-year String Quartet Survey class.

"We are excited to have the Ivalas Quartet come to Juilliard this year and share their artistry with our audiences," said David Serkin Ludwig, dean and director of Juilliard’s Music Division. "The Ivalas arrives at the school as an already accomplished ensemble that has distinguished itself on world stages, and they share Juilliard’s values of inclusivity, artistic curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to excellence in performance. We look forward to welcoming them into our school community, and I thank the Juilliard String Quartet for their excellent work in selecting Ivalas as our next graduate string quartet in residence."

Juilliard quartet residencies are for two years. Upon successful completion of the residency, quartet members are awarded Artist Diplomas in String Quartet Studies at Juilliard.

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