Borromeo Quartet: “A remarkably accomplished string quartet, not simply for its high technical polish and refined tone, but more importantly for the searching musical insights it brings.” Chicago Tribune

Verona Quartet: “bold interpretive strength, robust characterization and commanding resonance.”Calgary Herald

Chamber Music Concerts (CMC) presents the Borromeo/Verona String Octet on Saturday, April 18 at 3pm at the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall, 450 S Mountain Ave, Ashland, OR. Purchase tickets at ChamberMusicConcerts.org or call 541-552-6154.

What a special opportunity: This concert combines two world-class string quartets to explore the masterpieces of the string octet repertoire. This is music rarely heard at this level of performance and is a can’t-miss event.

Each visionary performance of the award-winning Borromeo Quartet strengthens its reputation as one of the most important ensembles of our time. The quartet has received numerous awards throughout its illustrious 25-year career, including the Avery Fisher Career Grant and Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award. The ensemble has been hailed for its “edge-of-the- seat performances” by the Boston Globe, which called it “simply the best.” The BSQ has been ensemble-in-residence at the New England Conservatory and Taos School of Music, both for 25 years, and is quartet-in-residence at the Heifetz International Music Institute, where first violinist Nicholas Kitchen is Artistic Director. The quartet was also in residence and has worked extensively as performers and educators with the Library of Congress and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

The Verona Quartet has firmly established itself amongst the most distinguished ensembles on the chamber music scene today. The group’s singular sense of purpose earned them Chamber Music America’s coveted 2020 Cleveland Quartet Award, and they serve on the faculty of the Oberlin College and Conservatory as the Quartet-in-Residence at Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance. The quartet has appeared across four continents, captivating audiences at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center (New York City), Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.), and many others.

The octet’s concert program for CMC features Dmitri Shostakovich’s Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11; George Enescu’s String Octet in C Major, Op. 7; and Felix Mendelssohn’s String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20.

Tickets are $39/49, with discounts available for full-time students and Oregon Trail Card holders. Purchase online at ChamberMusicConcerts.org or by calling 541-552-6154.