POIESIS QUARTET

GET TICKETS Celebrated for their “multifaceted artistry” and “brilliantly idiomatic” programming (New York Times), the Poiesis Quartet is the winner of the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award and the First Prize and Commission Prize recipients of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2023, they were also named the Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize winners at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. In May 2024, Poiesis joined the Concert Artists Guild roster for North American management as winners of the Louis and Susan Meisel Competition. This concert is designated our Founders Concert, in memory of our founders, Gwen and Bill Stevens, who encouraged the development of younger musicians. The concert is followed by a reception where you can meet the artists. All are encouraged to attend. Sponsored by the Stevens Family Fund of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley Program Daniel Lasagna (b. 2002) Circus of the Mind Calvin Ray Shawler (b. 2005) Order Jeff Scott (b. 1967) Tapestry of the Beloved Beatified Leilehua Lanzilotti (b. 1983) ahupuaʻa Queen Liliʻuokalani (1838–1917), arr. Duane Padilla ‘O Kou Aloha Nō: The Queen’s Prayer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 Program Notes Notes from the Poiesis Quartet: “Centered around Jeff Scott’s new commission, this program is a deep exploration of memory and consciousness, and in Scott’s words, the “tensions against which resilience grows brighter.” The first two pieces on the program are deeply psychological. Daniel Lasagna’s piece “Circus of the Mind” is an intense exploration of the chaos of consciousness, moving between scenes of dissociation, confusion, and acceptance. In “Order,” Calvin Ray Shawler counterposes a fragile hymn-like chorale, an ode to idealism, with a new idea that challenges everything once held dear. Jeff Scott memorializes four queer icons who have brought forth upheavals and shook the foundations of power in the world: Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk, Silvia Rivera and Jeanne Manford. Using textures from expressive polyphony to spoken chant, this sonic tapestry weaves together these four lives and remembers each as a uniquely radiant and loving presence. “Leilehua Lanzilotti pays tribute to Queen Lili’uokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawai’i. The music first ushers us into aleatoric landscapes of water droplets falling from the sky to downpour on a busy street market. The final movement borrows from Lili’uokalani’s famous composition, the Queen’s Prayer, with the pitches of the melody played like flowers blooming in response to each other. This piece is immediately followed by a string quartet arrangement of the source material, the Queen’s Prayer itself. Finally, Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 135 is last on the program, and is known as the composer’s final quartet. Beethoven, however, laughs in the face of those who try to analyze this piece in terms of mortality and existential despair. From beginning to end, the quartet brims with lightness, humor, and assurance.” About the Artist Celebrated for their “multifaceted artistry” and “brilliantly idiomatic” programming (New York Times), the Poiesis Quartet is the winner of the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award and the First Prize and Commission Prize recipients of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2023, they were also named the Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize winners at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. In May 2024, Poiesis joined the Concert Artists Guild roster for North American management as winners of the Louis and Susan Meisel Competition. Derived from ancient Greek (ποιεῖν), the word Poiesis means “to make”; specifically, to create something that has never existed before. With a focus on expanding the string quartet repertoire with vibrant new works by emerging composers, the Poiesis Quartet infuses each performance with unique moments of synchronicity and verve. Their 2024 debut album ‘as we are’ on the Bright Shiny Things label, which features world premiere recordings with mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby, was lauded for the quartet’s “bottomless depth” (Cleveland Classical). Having had presented several world premieres of works by composers including Brian Raphael Nabors, Kitty Brazelton, and Cara Haxo, their commission of String Quartet No. 7 ‘Surfacing’ by Chinese-Canadian composer Kevin Lau received its world premiere at the Chautauqua Institution in 2025. Furthermore, the Oberlin Commission Project (TOCP), an exciting new endeavor spearheaded by Poiesis, presents the world premieres of five newly commissioned works by LGBTQ+ composers of color from Oberlin Conservatory in March 2026. Poiesis is honored to be selected as the 2025-26 Ernst Stiefl Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and as the 2025 St. Lawrence Emerging String Quartet in Residence at Stanford University, Poiesis has also previously acted as ensemble-in-residence of concertnova, a Cincinnati-based collective which presents multi-sensorial and interdisciplinary concert experiences. Recent and upcoming engagements include the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Newport Classical, Chamber Music Raleigh, Noe Music, Guarneri Hall, and the Austin Chamber Music Center, amongst others. Highlights of the 2025-26 season include performances of ‘Absolute Jest’ with the Dayton Philharmonic in Dayton, OH and with the Oberlin Orchestra in Oberlin, OH. Poiesis has completed multiple international residencies in Punta del Diablo and Punta del Este, Uruguay; the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy; the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia, CAN; the University of Victoria in British Columbia, CAN; and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in France. Additionally, the Poiesis was selected as the only North American ensemble to compete in the prestigious 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition in Alberta, CAN. The Poiesis Quartet is currently the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) studying under the Ariel Quartet. As graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory, they were previously mentored by Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica Quartet and members of the Verona Quartet. As a multi-faceted ensemble, in addition to their performance degrees from Oberlin, members of the quartet also individually received formal education in disciplines such as chemistry, comparative American studies, feminist studies, baroque, and jazz. When not playing chamber music, Poiesis loves to learn new languages, share ice cream cakes, and take long walks on the beach.