The Chilingirian Quartet Competitors

Professional String Quartet based in Austin, TX

For over 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet — David Harrington (violin), Gabriela Díaz (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello) — has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually reimagine the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 70 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers, and commissioning more than 1,000 works and arrangements for string quartet. The cornerstone of Kronos’ mission is the unique, live performance voice of the string quartet — the coming together in conversation of distinct but integrated voices. It is from this artistic foundation that Kronos explores, extends, and enhances the musical experience for artists, audiences, and global communities. Kronos achieves its mission as a not-for-profit organization through a wide variety of programmatic initiatives including commissioning, performing, presenting, recording, publishing, archiving, teaching, mentoring, and encouraging the next generations of artists and audiences.

In addition to their demanding concert and recording schedule, the Eroica Trio is committed to music education, giving concerts, master-classes and special children's shows at schools and colleges throughout the country. Each summer, the Trio performs at music festivals throughout the world, including the Hollywood Bowl, Aspen, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, and Spoleto, Italy. The Eroica Trio has appeared on numerous television programs, including ABC's The View, CNN's Showbiz Today, CBS and ABC News, the CBS Morning Show and Saturday Morning, A&E'sBreakfast with the Arts, The Isaac Mizrahi Show, Pure Oxygen, Bloomberg TV and Fox's The Crier Report. In addition, they will be featured in the international broadcast of The Artists' Way At Work, an in-depth exploration of artistic creativity. "Eroica!", a special documentary about the trio and their commissioning of a new triple concerto by Kevin Kaska, premiered on the PBS series Independent Lens in December 2003. The group has been featured in such magazines as Elle, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Detour, Marie Claire, Gotham, Entrée, Bon Appétit, Time Out New York, Gramophone,, Piano, Vivace, Auditorium, Chamber Music and have graced the covers of magazines as diverse as Fanfare, Cigar, Strings, Tall, and Strad. Grand Marnier created a new cocktail dubbed The Eroica, unveiled for the release of the "Pasión" recording. Chateau Sainte Michelle, a vineyard in Seattle, also named one of their vintage Rieslings in honor of the Trio. The women who make up the Eroica Trio are all top-ranked, award-winning soloists and have performed on many of the world's great stages. Pianist Erika Nickrenz, who made her concerto debut at New York's Town Hall at the age of 11, was a featured soloist on the PBS series Live from Lincoln Center. A recipient of the Rockefeller Tanglewood Fellowship, she began her studies with German Diez and received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard school as a pupil of Abbey Simon. In the spring of 2003 she gave a performance and rang the ...