The Poiesis Quartet won the Grand Prize at the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and, in 2024, joined the North American roster of the Concert Artist Guild by winning the Louis & Susan Meisel Competition. Recent graduates of the Oberlin Conservatory, Poiesis are now the Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying under the Ariel Quartet.
More important to you, dear audience, is that Poiesis is the 2025 WWCMF Emerging Artist Quartet, following in the footsteps of Ivalas Quartet, masso and Cerus Quartet as the fourth group to undertake this position. During their Walla Walla residency, they will play for nearly 2,000 youngsters in the Walla Walla Public Schools, presenting in both English and Spanish.
The word Poiesis comes from the Ancient Greek verb, “to make” or “create,” which in turn shares a root with the modern English word, “poetry.” As a string quartet made up of inter- and multi-disciplinary young artists, the Poiesis Quartet seeks to program music of all styles and genres and expand the traditional quartet setting with an emphasis on platforming works by emerging and underrepresented composers. Poiesis strives to create unique moments of synchronicity, sensitivity, and verve in each performance.
And according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “Poiesis” occurs about 0.08 times per million words in modern written English. So, one in a million doesn’t begin to describe tonight’s performance!
All selections will be announced from the stage.
Artists: Poiesis Quartet: Max Ball, violin; Jasper de Boor, viola; Adalus Low-Manzini, cello; Sarah Ying Ma, violin