Ms. Chen’s performances are regularly heard on NPR’s Performance Today. She gives masterclasses and lectures throughout the world, and served many years as panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mr. Costanza, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, actively toured as the cellist of the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ) from 2003-2023, performing over one hundred concerts annually throughout North America and in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Beginning with the 2023-2024 concert season, Mr. Costanza began to refocus his performance activities on solo performances and varied chamber music collaborations, including cycles of the complete Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, at Stanford University, and other locations; the complete Britten Cello Suites presented as a cycle; a collaboration with the Stanford Chamber Chorale on tour in Hawaii; solo and chamber music performances at multiple California Bay Area venues; and a concerto tour of France with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Costanza recently has embraced additional opportunities to express his musical passions, through pre-concert lectures, informal concert/lecture presentations, and program note writing.

Mr. Costanza is a full-time Artist in Residence at Stanford University, where he teaches cello and chamber music, serves as the Associate Director of Music for the Stanford Medical Humanities and Arts program, and performs concerts and gives lectures across campus. A strong proponent of contemporary music, Mr. Costanza has worked extensively with the world’s most notable composers, such as John Adams, Jonathan Berger, Osvaldo Golijov, Mark Applebaum, Pierre Boulez, Roberto Sierra, R. Murray Schafer, William Bolcom, and John Corigliano. As a student, he had the honor of studying Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time under the guidance of the composer.  

Mr. Costanza’s discography includes chamber music and solo recordings on the Nonesuch, EMI/Angel, Naxos, Innova, Albany, and Summit labels. In 2006, he received a Grammy nomination for his recording of chamber works for winds and strings by Mozart. In 2012, Mr. Costanza recorded the Six Suites for Solo Cello by J.S. Bach at the beautiful Banff Centre in Canada; those recordings, along with his extensive commentary, are available for streaming on his website, costanzacello.com. In August 2019, the SLSQ released its recording of all six Op. 20 String Quartets of Haydn, and in the summer of 2023, the new recording label Phenotypic released the final two SLSQ recordings: two of the Op. 76 quartets by Haydn, and the Korngold Piano Quintet with pianist Stephen Prutsman. 

Mr. Costanza is frequently heard on radio broadcasts worldwide, including the CBC in Canada, NPR in the United States, and on various European broadcasting networks. He is privileged to perform on an early 18th-century Venetian cello, part of the Harry R. Lange Collection of Musical Instruments and Bows at Stanford. 

In addition to his varied musical interests, Mr. Costanza is an avid runner and hiker. A train enthusiast, he enjoys riding and exploring the passenger railways of the world. He is fascinated by architecture and seeks out innovative architectural offerings in his travels. At home in California, he is passionate about cooking, focusing his attention on new and creative dishes that take advantage of the abundance of remarkable organic local produce.

Currently a cellist with the Minnesota Orchestra, Pitnarry received her musical education at the Curtis Institute of Music at Yale University Music School, where she received the Aldo Parisot-Yo Yo Ma Prize upon graduation, and at Stony Brook University. Pitnarry is married to Kyu-Young Kim, principal Second Violinist in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and has two children.

His summer activities include teaching at Keshet Eilon in Israel, Domaine Forget in Canada, the Heifetz Institute, and the Steans Music Institute, where he has served on faculty since 1991.

A cum-laude first-prize winner at the Geneva International Music Competition (1972), Arad has performed worldwide in recitals and as a soloist with major orchestras and, for seven years, as a member of the celebrated Cleveland Quartet. His recordings with the quartet and as a soloist for labels such as Teldec, Telarc, RCA, and RIAX are widely acclaimed. His performance of Paganini’s “Sonata per la Grand Viola e Orchestra” is considered by many as a landmark in viola performance.

A “late bloomer” composer, Arad’s compositions include a solo sonata for viola, two string quartets, a viola concerto (which he premiered in Bloomington, Brussels, and Stockholm), and more. His “Tikvah for Viola Solo” was commissioned for the 2008 Munich International Viola Competition by the ARD. His “Listen” (three poems by W. S. Merwin) for tenor, clarinet, viola, cello, and bass was written for the International Musicians Seminar’s concert tour with singer Mark Padmore in England.

“Epitaph” for cello and string orchestra was written for cellist Gary Hoffman, who premiered it in Kronberg, Germany, with the Kremerata Baltica Orchestra. (Arad performed the viola version of this piece at the International Viola Congress in Rochester, New York). Arad performed and presented his “Twelve Caprices for Viola” on several concert tours, including in the U.S., Canada, Israel, and Europe. The caprices are published by Hofmeister Musikverlag, Leipzig.

Recent performances include the Primrose Memorial Concert at Brigham Young University and, as a part of his services as the Lorand Fenyves Distinguished Visitor, in Toronto. In November 2018, Arad was a featured artist at the International Viola Congress in Rotterdam, premiering his new concerto for viola and strings, “Ceci n’est pas un Bach.”

Arad is a recipient of the American Viola Society’s Career Achievement Award (June 2018) and the International Viola Society’s Silver Alto Clef 2018 “in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the viola” (November 2018).

He plays a viola made by Niccolo Amati with a set of PI strings by Thomastik.

As co-founder and former violist of the Cavani String Quartet, Eckert performed on major concert series worldwide, garnered an impressive list of awards and prizes, including first prizes at both the Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Competition and the Cleveland Quartet Competition, and appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS and National Public Radio.

In recent seasons, Eckert has performed as guest violist with the Takács Quartet, appearing with them in Canada, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont. She has also performed on numerous faculty recitals at the University of Colorado Boulder and soloed with the CU Boulder Symphony Orchestra, Music in the Mountains Purgatory Festival Orchestra, Four Seasons Chamber Orchestra, Boulder Bach Festival and the Boulder Chamber Orchestra.

Performing engagements have included the 400th Galileo Anniversary at the American Academy in Rome, El Paso Pro Musica International Chamber Music Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Garth Newell Music Festival, Bravo! Vail, Music in the Mountains Chamber Music Festival, Sitka Summer Music Festival Autumn Classics, Niagara International Chamber Music Festival and Fontana Chamber Arts. Eckert has also performed chamber music recitals at the International French Horn, Flute and Double-Reed Conventions, and soloed at SEAMUS and ICMC electronic music national and international conferences.

Eckert’s teaching engagements have included presenting viola and chamber music pedagogy sessions, and coordinating the chamber music program at the American String Teachers Association International Workshops in Brisbane, Australia and Stavanger, Norway; presenting viola master classes at The Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Arizona State University, Governors School of South Carolina, Interlochen Arts Academy, University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, University of Memphis, University of Tennessee, Bowling Green State University and University of South Carolina; serving on the faculties of the Perlman Music Program, Takács Quartet Seminar and the North American Viola Institute at the Orford Center for the Arts in Quebec, Canada; and coaching chamber music at the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Inc. Ninth Conference, the International School for Musical Arts, Chamber Music Connection, Interlochen Arts Academy, Chamber Music Wyoming Young Artist Program, Britt Institute Chamber Strings and the Madeline Island Music Camp Adult Chamber Music Program.

Eckert serves on the board of the Rocky Mountain Viola Society and for three years served as an adjudicator for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA) Arts Recognition and Talent Search, the exclusive nominating agency for the Presidential Scholars in the Arts, and appeared in their academy-nominated documentary, “Rehearsing a Dream.”

A devoted pedagogue, Swartz serves on the faculties of Arizona State University and Madeline Island Chamber Music. He has previously taught at the University of Texas at El Paso, Domaine Forget Academy, Round Top Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, Innsbrook Institute, and the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory. Sought after as a master clinician, and frequent presenter at the American String Teachers Association National Conferences, his approach to bow technique was featured in a STRINGS magazine article in 2006.

Swartz is the founder and artistic director of the Visiting Quartet Residency Program at Arizona State University, a chamber music program that integrates visiting resident artists with a comprehensive chamber music curriculum. He has also been instrumental in shaping the curriculum for the violin program at the Domaine Forget Academy. He presently serves as artistic director for Madeline Island Chamber Music, and as president for ASTA-AZ.

Zweig studied with Louis Krasner, Samuel Kissel, Raphael Bronstein, and Tadeusz Wroński. She has been a member of the Syracuse Symphony, American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski, and Indianapolis Symphony.  She has developed pre-college string programs across the United States since 1972.

Zweig has given master classes and pedagogy workshops in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Israel, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, and throughout Europe. Her innovative web-based teaching tool, Mimi Zweig StringPedagogy.com, is accessed worldwide. 

American Public Television released the Emmy-nominated documentary Circling Around—The Violin Virtuosi, featuring IU String Academy students, in spring 2006.

In 2019, Zweig was the recipient of the American String Teachers Association Artist Teacher Award. Her students have won numerous competitions and teach and perform worldwide.

Previously, Kim has toured throughout the world as a founding member of the Daedalus Quartet with whom he won the Grand Prize at the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition and performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. As a former member of the Pacifica String Quartet, Mr. Kim won the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award. He has appeared as soloist with the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Poland. He has also served as guest concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra, and is an Emeritus Member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

The Parker Quartet was founded on the strength of friendship and a shared dedication to the art of chamber music. Although we officially came together as undergraduates at the New England Conservatory in 2002, the ensemble’s roots were planted earlier—at summer festivals where we played together in various configurations. These festivals, with their immersive, focused environments, became formative spaces: places where time seemed to pause, and where the combination of music, camaraderie, and rigorous exploration brought us together. That spirit of connection and curiosity remains a guiding force in our work today.

Our time as students was rich with discovery, shaped by exceptional mentorship. Whether at NEC, in international summer programs, or during our training with ProQuartet in France, we were fortunate to learn from artists who exemplified both musical excellence and a profound commitment to the string quartet tradition. Influences from members of the Cleveland, Takács, Juilliard, Tokyo, Hagen, Alban Berg, and Artemis Quartets—as well as from renowned pedagogues like Kim Kashkashian and Lucy Chapman—have left a lasting imprint on our playing and teaching. Their example informs our work with the next generation of musicians in our roles at Harvard University, the University of South Carolina, the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, and beyond.

In the early years of our career, following our win at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, we embarked on extensive international touring. Performances throughout Europe, and later in Asia and South America, exposed us to a wide range of musical traditions, acoustic environments, and cultural perspectives. These experiences deeply shaped our interpretive approach, refining not only our sound but also our awareness of spatial and interpersonal dynamics in performance.

Our commitment to adventurous repertoire led us to record the complete string quartets of György Ligeti in 2009—a project that challenged us artistically and expanded our ensemble’s expressive range. Though we undertook the recording with no expectation of recognition, the album ultimately received the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance, affirming our belief in the value of risk-taking and deep artistic inquiry.

Now in our third decade as a quartet, we continue to develop programs and collaborations that are intellectually engaging, emotionally resonant, and artistically vital. Alongside the milestones of our personal lives—marriages, children, and continued individual growth—the quartet has remained our artistic home: a space of ongoing dialogue, refinement, and renewal.

To us, a musical home is defined by trust, shaped by legacy, and sustained by a shared commitment to discovery. That ethos continues to inspire our work, both onstage and off.

Recent seasons featured performances of the Quartet’s major project together with the National Book Award-winning author Phil Klay and the poet Tom Sleigh, which offers a groundbreaking program combining music and readings that examines the effects of war. The Quartet also collaborated with the renowned author Salman Rushdie in a work for narrator and quartet by the film composer Paul Cantelon built around Rushdie’s novel The Enchantress of Florence. These tremendously imaginative collaborations cement the American String Quartet’s reputation as one of the most adventurous and fearless string quartets performing today, as comfortable with the groundbreaking as with the traditional. 

The Quartet’s diverse activities have also included numerous international radio and television broadcasts, including a recent recording for the BBC; tours of Asia; and performances with the New York City Ballet, the Montreal Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Recent highlights include performances of an all-sextet program with Roberto and Andrès Díaz, many tours of South America, and performances of the complete Beethoven cycle of string quartets at the Cervantes Festival in Mexico and the Tel Aviv Museum in Israel.  

The American’s additional extensive discography can be heard on the Albany, CRI, MusicMasters, Musical Heritage Society, Nonesuch, and RCA labels. Most recently the group released “Schubert’s Echo,” which pairs Schubert’s monumental last quartet with works bearing its influence by Second Viennese masters Alban Berg and Anton Webern. This repertoire posits that the creative line from the First to the Second Viennese Schools is continuous – and evident when these works are heard in the context of each other.  

As champions of new music, the American has given numerous premieres, including George Tsontakis’s Quartet No. 7.5, “Maverick,” Richard Danielpour’s Quartet No. 4, and Curt Cacioppo’s a distant voice calling. The premiere of Robert Sirota’s American Pilgrimage was performed around the U.S. in the cities the work celebrates. The Quartet premiered Tobias Picker’s String Quartet No. 2 in New York City in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Manhattan School of Music.  

Formed when its original members were students at The Juilliard School, the American String Quartet’s career began with the group winning both the Coleman Competition and the Naumburg Award in the same year.  Resident quartet at the Aspen Music Festival since 1974 and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York since 1984, the American has also served as resident quartet at the Taos School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.