The Juilliard School Names New Graduate Resident Quartet

The Katarina String Quartet will assume the residency for two years beginning in September 2024

The Katarina String Quartet’s (KSQ) two-year graduate residency at The Juilliard School will begin in September 2024 and run through spring 2026.

Founded in 2022 under the tutelage of André Roy at Montreal’s McGill University,  the KSQ comprises violinists Jeanel Liang and Jérôme Chiasson, violist Celia Morin, and cellist Maya Enstad.

The group has also studied with members of the Alban Berg, Dover, and Danel quartets, plus coached extensively with Gerhard Schulz, the Pacifica Quartet, and Atar Arad. KSQ was recently awarded the gold medal and the BIPOC Composer Prize at the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. Previously, the quartet won first prize at the Canadian Music and McGill Chamber Music competitions.

As Lisa Arnhold Fellows at Juilliard, the members of the Katarina String Quartet will perform an annual recital at Alice Tully Hall, coach regularly with the Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ), and participate in the annual Juilliard String Quartet Seminar. 

They will also assist the JSQ with its ensemble and chamber music instruction, coach other student ensembles, and assist in the first year String Quartet Survey class. Upon completing their Juilliard residency in 2026, each of KSQ’s members will be awarded an Artist Diploma in String Quartet Studies.

Aimed at pursuing repertoire and projects focusing on fostering inclusivity, sustainability, and accessibility, the KSQ is named for Katarina Guarneri, the wife of the renowned violinmaker Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù. Inspired by Katarina, the KSQ often pays tribute to compositions by women whose uncredited contributions to the industry have helped shape the way music will be shared in the future. 

“We are pleased to welcome the Katarina Quartet to this long-standing string quartet-in-residence position at Juilliard,” said dean and director of Juilliard’s Music Division, David Serkin Ludwig in the press release. “This ensemble shares our commitment to tradition and innovation, performing works by composers ranging from Haydn to Vivian Fung. We are excited to have the quartet join our community and know they will flourish in their opportunity to work with members of the legendary Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ), the primary mentors in the program.”

“The Katarina Quartet will bring much to Juilliard's chamber music culture,” added Merry Peckham, assistant dean and director of chamber music. “This wonderful quartet will be a force for good in the name of great chamber music making.”

Juilliard’s most recent quartet in residence, Ivalas Quartet will complete its residency at the end of the 2024 semester. Other Juilliard graduate string quartets in residence have included the Aeolus, Afiara, Attacca, Avalon, Biava, Calder, Cassatt, Chiara, Corigliano, Essex, Lark, Maia, Miró, St. Lawrence, Shanghai, Ulysses, and Verona quartets, among others.