The Balourdet Quartet – currently in residence at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University – received the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, as well as prizes in international competitions including the Banff, Borciani, and Carl Nielsen Competitions. The Quartet was also awarded the Gold Medal at the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. 

     Notable upcoming performances include those at Northwestern University, the La Jolla Music Society, Schneider Concert Series, and Chamber Music Houston. The Quartet will serve as the quartet-in-residence for the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle in 23/24. Highlights of the Balourdet’s 2022-23 season included appearances at Chamber Music Detroit, the Grand Piano Series in Naples, FL, NEC’s Jordan Hall, Merkin Hall, and Wigmore Hall. Summer 2022 also saw the Balourdet performing at festivals including Bravo! Vail, Music Mountain, and Strings Music Festival. Additionally in 22/23 the Quartet was thrilled to premiere a new commissioned work by celebrated composer Karim Al-Zand, made possible through Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant. 

     The Balourdet has performed at festivals and series including Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society Summerfest, the Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Montgomery Chamber Music, Santa Fe ProMusica, and the Schneider Concert Series. Committed to sharing their musical values with the next generation, the Quartet has given masterclasses and coachings at New England Conservatory’s Preparatory Department, the Fischoff Chamber Music Academy, Upper Valley Chamber Music, Wright State University, as well as a residency teaching and performing at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. 

     The Balourdet Quartet was formed in 2018 at Rice University in Houston, Texas under the tutelage of James Dunham, Norman Fischer, and Cho-Liang Lin, and considers Paul Katz, Miriam Fried, and members of the Cleveland and Borromeo Quartets mentors. The Quartet is currently working closely with the estimable Pacifica Quartet at Indiana University. The Quartet takes its name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community. 

www.balourdetquartet.com                                                                                                                                        August 2023