“Vibrant performance.” - San Francisco Classical Voice

 

“Thalea never failed to deliver a stirring performance” - Calgary Herald

 

 

The Thalea String Quartet is dedicated to bringing timeless music to audiences from all walks of life. From living rooms to concert stages around the world, the Thalea String Quartet aims to connect with audiences on a musical, emotional and personal level, from first time listeners to string quartet aficionados. They are devoted to building a new and diverse audience for chamber music through innovative programming and community engagement.

 

Top prize-winners at both the 2018 Fischoff and Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competitions, Thalea was founded in 2014 and made its U.S. début at the Kennedy Center in 2016. They have performed across North America and in Italy, France and Belgium.

 

Thalea has shared the stage with the Borromeo Quartet in the Mendelssohn Octet, with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer/vocalist Caroline Shaw, and with Geoff Nuttall of the St. Lawrence String Quartet.

 

 

Thalea participated in the 2017 KRONOS Festival and are Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel Associated Artists in 2018, under the mentorship of the Artemis Quartet. Other mentors have included members of the Juilliard, Kronos, Takács, Pacifica and Danish String Quartets. During multiple residencies at the Banff Centre they worked with Gilbert Kalish, Mark Steinberg, Alasdair Tait and the JACK and Miró Quartets.

 

Individual members also perform jazz, compose for interactive visual art, sing with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, dance ballet, and occasionally act on a hit TV show.

 

 

 

Canadian violinist Christopher Whitley is an engaging and versatile performer. From Baroque to electronic music, Christopher is committed to exploring and performing music of all styles. Christopher has performed on period instruments at the Boston Early Music Festival and the Valley of the Moon Music Festival. 

 

Christopher performs on the 1700 “Taft” Stradivari, generously on loan by the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank. In his spare time, he can be found at record stores, libraries and coffee shops and does whatever he can to get into a canoe.

 

 

Kumiko Sakamoto is a devoted performer, chamber musician, and multi-faceted artist. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout North America, France, Poland, and Italy, including performances at the Kennedy Center, Massey Hall, St. Sulpice (Paris), and Teatro la Fenice (Venice). Kumiko recorded the first album of works by Italian composer Gino Gorini under the Tactus (Naxos) label which was released in 2015.

 

 

Violist Luis Bellorín comes from a family devoted to the arts in Caracas, Venezuela. His playing has been praised for its warmth of sound and for having an "impossibly sweet tone" by The San Francisco Classical Voice. In 2015, he made his debut in Beijing, China at the summit of the Pacific Alliance of Music Schools, where he enjoyed meeting and collaborating with students from music schools throughout the Pacific Rim.

 

 

Cellist Titilayo Ayangade, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, is a dedicated chamber musician, multifaceted artist and purveyor of music. Titilayo holds a Bachelors of Music from CCM where she studied with Ilya Finkelshteyn, and continued her studies at the Chicago College of Performing Arts as Resident String Quartet with the Yas Quartet.

 

While living in Chicago she maintained an active orchestral and chamber music performance schedule as a member of The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Chicago Sinfonietta, and the Yas Quartet. Titilayo played at the Classical Music day at the White House in 2009 and appeared as a guest artist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a member of the Nouveau Chamber Players.

 

 

Described by critics as possessing “Keen musical intelligence and excellent facility” (Miami Herald) as well as “opulent and romantic tone” (Fanfare), Chinese-American concert pianist and Steinway Artist Tao Lin has performed in Asia, North America, and Europe. A versatile musician, he is equally at home as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.

 

Born into a musical family in Shanghai, he began piano lessons at the age of four, first with his mother and later his father, both on faculty at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The following year saw his first public performance and at the age of eight, he gained entrance to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. 

 

1. Beethoven: Quartet op.59 no.2

2. Garth Knox: Dimensions 

 

- Intermission -

 

1. Brahms: Piano Quintet