Press
“Outstanding ensemble of young musicians...” “Cohesive yet full of temperament...vibrant, intelligent.”
“After the Verona finished the fifth movement with a morendo non-vibrato ending, there was a...magnetic silence. No one dared move while the group held their bows still in midair. This was one of those irreplaceable moments of group experience that happen at concerts, when our individual selves fade out for a moment without breath – before we come back to ourselves to applaud.”
“They know what sounds rich and focused and they go with it, denying nothing of our expectations...Interpretive strength and robust characterization....commanding resonance.”
“Individual parts blended into an organic whole, as if the entire quartet shared a brain...dynamic contrasts were fine tuned to perfection...”
“...fiery ensemble work and big vibrant sound...”
“Everything was clear, luminous, balanced, and the unbridled polyphony of the finale literally shook the hall....Verona: Pure Joy.”
“...the most intense and eerie five minutes of music one will hear this concert season...”
“...a dramatically charged performance…the listening experience was pure pleasure”
“I confess that I have rarely heard a Ravel so clear, shiny, fluid, and a Beethoven so clean, sweet and feisty all at once, as on this occasion.”
“Sensational, powerhouse performance...”
“The Verona Quartet were more convincing...more impassioned, more dynamic and more engaging. Plenty of expression here, the players not afraid to go to dynamic extremes and always keeping the music supple.”
“They’re the real deal; they really are.”
Verona Quartet
Jonathan Ong, Violin
Dorothy Ro, Violin
Abigail Rojansky, Viola
Jonathan Dormand, Cello
Acclaimed as an “outstanding ensemble…cohesive yet full of temperament” (The New York Times), 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 a reputation for its “bold interpretive strength, robust characterization and commanding resonance” (Calgary Herald). The Quartet serves on the faculty of the Oberlin College and Conservatory as the Quartet-in-Residence and as Artistic Directors at Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance. In addition to its position at Oberlin, the Quartet also recently held recent multi-season residencies at the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute and North Carolina’s Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. As committed advocates of diverse programming, the Verona Quartet curated the UpClose Chamber Music Series on behalf of the COT, electrifying audiences with their “sensational, powerhouse performance[s]” (Classical Voice America).
The Verona 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.), Jordan Hall (Boston), Wigmore Hall (U.K.) and Melbourne Recital Hall (Australia), and has performed at festivals including the Santa Fe International Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Bravo! Vail, Texas Music Festival, Caramoor, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, MISQA, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
In the 2024-25 season, the Verona Quartet will debut at numerous prestigious series institutions including the Grand Teton Music Festival, Eastman School of Music, Peabody Institute of Music, Music Mondays in NYC, Lebanon Valley College, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Camerata Musica in Washington state, and for the University of Buffalo’s celebrated Slee Beethoven String Quartet Cycle. The Quartet also returns to The New School of Music’s Schneider Series, Clemson University’ Utsey Chamber Music Series, Town Hall Seattle, University of Hartford’s Garmany Chamber Music Series, Chamber Music Society of Central Kentucky, and the Freer Gallery of Art, among others. Beyond their standalone performances this season, the Verona tours goes on tour with pipa virtuoso Wu Man, saxophonist Steven Banks —which includes a cutting edge commission by composer Christopher Theofanidis—and a string octet program with the Borromeo String Quartet. Last season, the quartet gave a noteworthy its successful first tour of England and performed at series including Clarion Concerts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Brevard Music Center’s Parker Series, Chicago Chamber Music Society, Wooster Chamber Music Series, the Hilton Head Symphony’s BravoPiano! Festival, La Jolla Athanaeum, University of Southern California, Eureka Chamber Music Series, Honolulu Chamber Music Series, and Music Toronto.
A string quartet for the 21st century, the Verona Quartet champions the rich breadth of the string quartet repertoire from the time-honored canon through contemporary classics. Notable commissions and premieres include works by composers Julia Adolphe, Texu Kim and Sebastian Currier as well as Michael Gilbertson’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated Quartet. In 2023, the Quartet celebrated several world premieres including a work for string quartet, yangqin (Chinese dulcimer) and dancer by Cheng Jin Koh, commissioned by The Smithsonian Institution in honor of the centennial of the Freer Gallery of Art.
The Verona Quartet’s second album, SHATTER, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart in the summer of 2023. SHATTER showcases works written for the Verona Quartet by American composers Julia Adolphe and Michael Gilbertson as well as Reena Esmail’s Ragamala, in collaboration with Hindustani vocalist Saili Oak. The Verona Quartet’s debut album, Diffusion, was praised by BBC Music Magazine for its "radiant glow" and Cleveland Classical for the “Verona’s technical precision, expressive freedom, and brilliant, dramatic phrasing”. The Quartet’s third album, composed of Ligeti’s complete string quartets, was released in December 2023 with Dynamic Records in celebration of the composer's centennial year.
In addition to promoting contemporary music, the Quartet strives for a dynamic, imaginative approach to collaboration and programming that champions cross-cultural and interdisciplinary enterprises. Recent collaborations include touring with Polish guitarist Łukasz Kuropaczewski and performances of Osvaldo Golijov’s seminal work Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind with clarinetists Alex Fiterstein and Todd Palmer. In the upcoming season, the Quartet looks forward to return collaborations with Alex Fiterstein and violist Atar Arad as well as a new project with pianist Eric Lu. Past projects include a live-performance art installation with artist Ana Prvački, performances with dancers from Brooklyn’s Dance Heginbotham, artistic exchanges with traditional Emirati poets in the UAE, and a collaboration with GRAMMY-winning folk trio I’m With Her.
Continuing in the lineage of their esteemed mentors the Cleveland, Juilliard and Pacifica Quartets, the Verona Quartet’s rapid rise to international prominence was fueled by top prize wins at the Wigmore Hall, Melbourne, M-Prize and Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions, as well as the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition.
The ensemble’s “vibrant, intelligent” (The New York Times) performances emanate from the spirit of storytelling; the Quartet believes that this transcends genre and therefore the name “Verona” pays tribute to William Shakespeare, one of the greatest storytellers of all time.
The Verona Quartet are D’Addario Artists and The Violin Channel Artists
Schedule
Upcoming Concerts: