Bayberry String Quartet
Nurit Pacht and Steffani Kitayama, violins
Gabe Bolkosky, viola
Laura Usiskin, cello
The Bayberry String Quartet, known for its dynamic performances and fresh interpretations, embraces chamber music’s power to unite, inspire, and delight. Now in its eighth season, the BSQ continues to command the stage in prestigious concert halls across the country, including Carnegie Hall, Chautauqua Institution, and Lincoln Center. Its artistic reach extends beyond live performance, embracing innovative online collaborations such as its genre-blending rendition of Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein” as well as the Bayberry String Quartet Listening Guide, a unique resource designed to deepen understanding of the rich string quartet tradition.
Education is a cornerstone of BSQ’s mission to engage with people of all ages and backgrounds. Initiatives include summer institutes, weekend workshops, school visits, and the Bayberry String Quartet Listening Guide. During the pandemic, the quartet created the virtual chamber music approach “PhoenixPhest Virtual” where they coached student and professional groups across North America in online workshops. Through their individual and collaborative work, the four musicians have impacted the lives of thousands of musicians.
In 2024, the Bayberry String Quartet released Only Mozarts in the Building, an album of the complete Mozart “Milanese” string quartets, K. 155 – 160. The following year, after performing “Infloribus” by Livia Teodorescu at Carnegie Hall, the quartet released a recording of the work on Cicerone Records. Upcoming albums include Voyage, an exploration of travels that influenced Prokofiev, Dvořák, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwillich, and “Alcyone” by Douglas Boyce, to be released on New Focus Records alongside a video interpretation of the work.