Balourdet Quartet bio

The Balourdet Quartet is acclaimed for its vibrant energy and masterful blend of technical precision and emotional depth, bringing a fresh perspective to both beloved classics and modern compositions. Its unique closeness and willingness to take creative risks earned it the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, as well as Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award. With more than 70 concerts per season, recent highlights include the Balourdet’s debut at Wigmore Hall, and new string quartets by composers Karim Al-Zand, Paul Novak, and Nicky Sohn through grants from Chamber Music America (2021) and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition (2023). The ensemble has recently been named the first quartet-in-residence at the Seattle Chamber Music Society and have recently completed residencies at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program.

In 2021, the quartet won the grand prize at New York’s Concert Artists Guild Competition, which included joint management by Concert Artists Guild in the US, and Young Classical Artists Trust in the UK and Europe. In addition, the Balourdet Quartet has won prizes at Canada’s Banff International String Quartet Competition and Italy’s Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition. It won gold medals at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association Competition and the annual competition at Chamber Music in Yellow Springs, where it also won the audience award.