The
Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) is one of the leading
international music competitions. From August 27 – September 2, 2007,
10 of the world’s best young string quartets performed for a most distinguished
jury, for an enthusiastic audience, and for each other in the quest to win this
prestigious competition.
What sort of training do these young quartets go through when preparing for
the competition? What is it like to perform in a modern string quartet? The
Road to Banff followed the two Canadian quartets who competed in the 2007
BISQC, the Toronto-based Tokai String Quartet and the Afiara String Quartet,
who are currently quartet in residence at the Morrison Centre of Chamber Music
at San Francisco 
State University. Using diaries entries and photos, the quartets explored the
days and weeks leading up to the competition, and gave us a intimate view of their
lives.
Afiara String Quartet
Valerie Li, violin
Yuri Cho, violin
David Samuel, viola
Adrian Fung, cello
An ensemble of Canadian musicians who are currently quartet in residence at the Morrison Centre of Chamber Music at San Francisco State University as assistants to the Alexander Quartet, the Afiara Quartet are also summer faculty at Chamber Music of the Rockies in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Their most recent performances have included participation in Kronos: Signature Works in New York, Chamber Music America’s 29th National Conference, and the Lake Tahoe Music Festival.
Tokai String Quartet
Amanda Goodburn, violin
Csaba Koczo, violin
Yosef Tamir-Smirnoff, viola
Rafael Hoekman, cello
Founded in 2002 while three of its members were
students at the University of Toronto, the Tokai String Quartet has studied
with the Emerson, Ying, Orion, St. Lawrence, and Leipzig Quartets. Winning the
Felix Galimir Chamber Music Award from the University of Toronto led to a short
concert tour with Scott St. John, Douglas MacNabney, and the St. Lawrence String
Quartet. Most recently, Debut Atlantic awarded them a concert tour of Atlantic
Canada for spring 2007.
CBC
does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of
external sites - links will open in a new window.
Experience some of the brightest young classical musicians from 2007's BISQC.
See behind the scene photos of life in a string quartet.
The concert that gathered all the Song Quest artists together at Glenn Gould Studio to perform their brand new songs.