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Borealis String Quartet
One of the most dynamic and exciting world-class ensembles of its generation, the Borealis String Quartet has received critical acclaim as an ensemble praised for its fiery performances, passionate style, and refined, musical interpretation.
Founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in the fall of 2000 and rapidly establishing a stellar reputation, the Borealis created a national sensation as the only classical ensemble televised on the Great Canadian Music Dream Competition hosted by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Consequently, they were invited to perform for the Prime Minister of Canada at the Canada Day Celebrations on Parliament Hill in front of an audience of over 75,000.
The Borealis has received enthusiastic acclaim from audiences in major cities in North America, including in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, where they played to a sold-out audience for the Schneider Concerts Series. Recent performances have included tours of Mexico, Taiwan, and North America. The Borealis served as Quartet-in-Residence for the June Music Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Magic City Chamber Music Festival in Birmingham, Alabama and the Winter Chamber Music Festival in Tucson, Arizona.
As well as extensive performing, the quartet is frequently heard on CBC Radio and other radio stations across North America and Asia. The Borealis has filmed music videos for Bravo Television, one of the largest arts stations in Canada, which were also debuted at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Their critically acclaimed CD entitled "Classic Borealis" recorded for Skylark Records was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award.
Devoted to performing other chamber music repertoire, the Borealis has collaborated with many different artists including clarinetist James Campbell, harpist Judy Loman, cellist Sadao Harada, baritone Christopheren Nomura and others. In addition, they have also worked and collaborated with members of the Borodin, Emerson, and Tokyo String Quartets.
The 2008-2009 season includes performances at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, National Academy of Science in Washington, DC, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Pro Music Society in Montreal, and a Beethoven String Quartet Cycle series at the IIlsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall in Seattle. Beside their North American tours, they will be returning to Taiwan and making their debut in Japan.
After their initial success in Taiwan in 2006, the Borealis was generously loaned a quartet of fine Italian instruments from the CHIMEI Culture Foundation, one of the leading string instrument collectors in the world. The instruments the Borealis performs on are a Giovanni Battista Rogeri violin (Cremona, 1698), a Lorenzo Storioni violin (Cremona, c 1780), a Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza viola (Milano, 1791), and a Lorenzo Storioni cello (Cremona, 1778).
As String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of British Columbia, the Borealis presents a series of concerts and gives master classes and chamber music coachings each season at the School of Music in addition to their international performances and regional outreach activities.
