Aizuri Quartet
Emma Frucht and Miho Saegusa, Violins
Brian Hong, Viola
Caleb van der Swaagh, Cello
Praised by The Washington Post for “astounding” and “captivating” performances, the Aizuri Quartet has garnered significant acclaim and numerous awards, including the 2022 Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America, the Grand Prize at the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, and top prizes at the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Their debut album, Blueprinting, featuring works by American composers, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award and named one of NPR Music’s Best Classical Albums of 2018. Their sophomore album, Earthdrawn Skies, released in 2023, was lauded by NPR Music for its ability to connect diverse musical styles spanning eight centuries.
The Aizuri Quartet has performed in an eclectic variety of settings, including major chamber music series and collaborations with legendary Indie Rock band Wilco, appearing with them on CBS’s The Tonight Show with Steven Colbert. They have also performed John Adams’s string quartet concerto Absolute Jest with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and participated in the Kronos Quartet’s Kronos Festival at SFJAZZ. Their innovative approach to music-making has led to adventurous programs and collaborations, such as their 2017-2018 residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which The New York Times described as “genuinely exciting” and “imaginative.”
Believing in an integrative approach to music-making, the Aizuri Quartet connects teaching, performing, writing, arranging, and community engagement. They launched AizuriKids, a free online series of educational videos for children that uses the string quartet to inspire creative learning. Passionate about nurturing the next generation of artists, the Quartet has held residencies at the Curtis Institute of Music, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute. Formed in 2012 and named after the Japanese woodblock printing style “aizuri-e,” the Aizuri Quartet combines four distinctive musical personalities into a powerful collective.
Ballet DSM
The mission of Ballet Des Moines is to enrich lives through inspiring dance performances, inclusive education and outreach programs, and innovative community partnerships.
Ballet Des Moines’ vision is to create experiences that inspire and connect people from all walks of life, modeling authentic inclusion in their performance and educational programming by focusing on access, by lifting up relevant and underrepresented stories, and by forging collaborations fostered in trust, humility, and artistry.
Ballet Des Moines is a leading regional dance company that attracts the most in-demand choreographers and hundreds of international applicants for company and trainee positions each year. Since 2019, the company has doubled its number of performances and more than tripled the number of company dancers, all of whom have relocated to Des Moines, IA to accept their position with Ballet Des Moines. Learn more at www.balletdesmoines.org.
