Dublin String Quartet Competitors

Professional String Quartet based in Austin, TX

The Takcs Quartet is one of the world's pre-eminent string quartets, performing 80 concerts a year worldwide. In residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder, the members of the quartet are also Associate Artists at London's Wigmore Hall. The quartet is renowned worldwide for its innovative programming and first-class performances. The ensemble was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takcs-Nagy, Kroly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and Andrs Fejér, while all four were students. It first received international attention in 1977, winning First Prize and the Critics' Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. Since then, the group has earned international acclaim and won numerous awards - including a Grammy, three Gramophone Awards, three Japanese Record Academy Awards and a Classical Brit. In 2001 the Takcs Quartet was awarded the Order of Merit of the Knight's Cross of the Republic of Hungary, and in March 2011 each member of the Quartet was awarded the Order of Merit Commander's Cross by the President of the Republic of Hungary. The Takcs Quartet records for Hyperion Records, with repertoire ranging from Haydn and Schubert to Britten and Jancek.

Since 1985 the Turtle Island Quartet has created new trends in chamber music for strings - playing jazz, bluegrass, swing, be-bop, funk, R&B, rock, hip-hop as well as the music of Latin America and India. Their latest album "Have You Ever Been" features the music of Jimi Hendrix and Turtle Island Quartet founder and composer-in-residence David Balakrishnan. With over a dozen major-label recordings and motion picture sound tracks, the group has appeared on the Today Show, All Things Considered, and Prairie Home Companion. Bartlett Microphones, located in Elkhart, Indiana, designs and builds specialty microphones for acoustic instruments and theater productions. Owner/engineer Bruce Bartlett says, "As long-time fans of the Turtle Island Quartet, we are honored to help convey its beautiful sound to its audiences."