Nicholas Kitchen, violin | Kristopher Tong, violin | Melisssa Reardon, viola | Yeesun Kim, cello

Each visionary performance of the award-winning Borromeo String Quartet strengthens and deepens its reputation as one of the most important ensembles of our time. Admired and sought after for both its fresh interpretations of the classical music canon and its championing of works by 20th and 21st century composers, the ensemble has been hailed for its “edge-of-the-seat performances,” by the Boston Globe, which called it “simply the best.”

Inspiring audiences for more than 25 years, the Borromeo continues to be a pioneer in its use of technology, and has the trailblazing distinction of being the first string quartet to utilize laptop computers on the concert stage. In 2003 the Borromeo became the first classical ensemble to make its own live concert recordings and videos.

Passionate educators, the BSQ has been ensemble-in-residence at the New England Conservatory and Taos School of Music, both for 25 years, and has for over two decades enjoyed a long-term relationship with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum where it continues to regularly appear. Currently, it is quartet-in-residence at the Heifetz International Music Institute, where first violinist Nicholas Kitchen is artistic director. The quartet was also in residence at the Library of Congress and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The ensemble also joined the Emerson Quartet as the Hittman Ensembles-in-Residence at the Peabody Institute.

The BSQ’s is renowned for its presentation of the cycle of Bartók String Quartets (rediscovered alternate movements Béla Bartók drafted for his six Quartets) as well as its dramatic discoveries within the manuscripts of the Beethoven Quartets. The group recently premiered new works written for it by Sebastian Currier and Aaron Jay Kernis at recitals. The ensemble continues to perform violinist Nicholas Kitchen's transcriptions of Bach’s Goldberg Variations and the Well-Tempered Clavier Bk. I, the latter of which the BSQ recently released an acclaimed premiere recording which hit the billboard charts.

Website: https://www.borromeoquartet.org/