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Our 2008--2009
Past Seasons: |
The Formosa String Quartet
The Formosa Quartet was formed in 2003 when the four founding members came together for a concert tour of Taiwan. In 2006, the Quartet won the First Prize and the Amadeus Prize at the Tenth London International String Quartet Competition. Jasmine Lin began studying the violin at age four. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. She was a prizewinner in the International Paganini Competition and took second prize in the International Naumburg Competition. Ms. Lin is a founding member of the Formosa Quartet. She is also a member of Trio Verve and the Chicago Chamber Musicians. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University and DePaul University and was a faculty member of the Taos School of Music in New Mexico. Currently, she is on the faculty of Roosevelt University and resides in Chicago. Violinist Ayano Ninomiya began her violin studies at the age of seven in a public school program in Newton, MA. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a joint degree in Music and French in 2001, where she was also awarded the David McCord Prize. She has a Master's degree from the Juilliard School. Second-prize winner of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition and winner of 2003 Astral Artistic Services' National Auditions, Ms. Ninomiya is also the recent winner of the Washington Award and the Lili Boulanger Memorial Award, and prizewinner of the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition. As a recipient of the 2005 Beebe Fellowship, she lived in Budapest, Hungary until 2007, studying at the Liszt Academy of Music and researching the Bartok Archives. Violist Che-Yen Chen began studying the viola at age six. He was a four-time winner of the National Viola Competition in Taiwan. Mr. Chen studied at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School. He won first prize at the 2003 William Primrose Viola Competition and the "President Prize" at the 2003 Lionel Tertis Viola Competition. Mr. Chen has served on the faculty at Indiana University -- South Bend. He is currently teaching at San Diego State University and University of California San Diego, and serves as principal violist of the San Diego Symphony. Cellist Jacob Braun has earned degrees from Cleveland Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory and Yale University. From 1998 to 2006, he was a member of the Biava Quartet, winners of the 2003 Naumburg Chamber Music Award. He joined the Formosa Quartet in January2007. Mr. Braun performs duo cello repertoire with his wife, cellist Amelie Fradette. He plays a "Royal" Forster cello made circa 1795. Mr. Braun is a table tennis and chess enthusiast and an avid Boston sports fan. |
