Toomai String Quintet bio

The Toomai String Quintet is an ensemble devoted to sharing musical traditions from around the world, often creating its own string arrangements and commissioning new works. The award-winning group has been engaging audiences across the nation for more than a decade, performing concerts at Carnegie Hall, 92NY, and The Juilliard School, among others.

Central to Toomai’s mission is the expansion of Latin American repertoire for string ensemble—Toomai has arranged and commissioned more than 25 works by Latin American composers. The ensemble also facilitates educational workshops that teach young people creative approaches to music through the lens of Cuban and other Latin American traditions. In 2018, Toomai released its debut album, Cuerdas Cubanas, and in 2024, the group released its second album, Passos Brasileiros, featuring original arrangements of music by legendary Brazilian composers such as Chiquinha Gonzaga, Milton Nascimento, Hermeto Pascoal, and Heitor Villa-Lobos.

The Toomai String Quintet, formed in 2007 at The Juilliard School, is named after Rudyard Kipling’s short story “Toomai of the Elephants,” in which a young boy journeys into the jungle to witness the dance of the wild elephants. The group aspires to cultivate a similar sense of curiosity and discovery in its search for diverse music to share with its audience.