Rolston Quartet Awarded 1st Prize at Canada's Banff String Quartet Comp

The Rolston String Quartet has been awarded 1st prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition

The Rolston String Quartet has been awarded 1st prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition, in Banff, Canada.

They will receive CAD $25,000 – plus a 3 year artistic and career development program of concert tours, residencies and recordings.

Comprising violinists Luri Lee and Jeffrey Dyrda, violist Hezekiah Leung and cellist Jonathan Lo, the Rice University Shepherd School of Music-based ensemble is a former major prize winner at the Yellow Springs, M-Prize and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions.

2nd and 3rd prizes were awarded to the Tesla Quartet and the Castilian String Quartet.

The $3000 prize for the best performance of Haydn in the opening round was awarded to the Tesla Quartet.

The $3000 prize for the best performance of the commissioned work was also awarded to the Tesla Quartet.

This year’s jury comprised Vera Beths (Rondom Kwartet), Denis Brott (Orford String Quartet), Gérard Caussé (Quatuor Via Nova), Yoshiko Nakura (Tokyo String Quartet), Geoff Nuttall (St. Lawrence String Quartet), Peter Salaff (Cleveland Quartet) and Alasdair Tait (Belcea Quartet).

Previous 1st prize winners include VC Artists Dover Quartet.