• Christopher Costanza, cello
• Geoff Nuttall, violin
• Leslie Robertson, viola
• Scott St. John, violin

Having walked on stage together over 2000 times in the last eighteen years, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has established itself among the world-class chamber ensembles of its generation. The group continues to build on its reputation for imaginative, spontaneous music making that the Washington Post calls "emotionally high charged but never out of control."

Since their genesis in Toronto in 1989, the St. Lawrence players have delighted audiences across Europe, Asia, North and South America. The group enjoyed mentoring with the Emerson, Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets and spent several summers at the Aspen, Norfolk and Tanglewood Festivals. Since winning the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Young Concert Artists Auditions in the early 90s, the quartet has become a regular at some of North America's most esteemed music festivals including Spoleto USA, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Mostly Mozart in New York, and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival.

From left to right: Christopher Costanza (cello), Geoff Nuttall (violin), Lesley Robertson (viola), Scott St. John (violin) SLSQ photos by Anthony Parmelee During the concert season, in addition to making appearances at such venues as New York's Lincoln Center and Washington's Kennedy Center, the St. Lawrence Quartet enjoys playing in less conventional locations and has undertaken regional tours of the Canadian Prairies and Maritime provinces, and the American Midwest. Recent tours of Europe have cast them onto the famed stages of London's Wigmore Hall, Paris' Théatre de Ville, and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. The foursome regularly delivers traditional quartet repertoire, but is also passionately committed to performing and expanding the works of living composers. Among those with whom the St. Lawrence Quartet currently has active working relationships are R. Murray Schafer, Osvaldo Golijov, Christos Hatzis, Jonathan Berger, and Melissa Hui. The long awaited initial recording of the St. Lawrence Quartet, Schumann's First and Third Quartets, was released in May 1999 to great critical acclaim. The CD, first in a series with EMI Classics, received the coveted German critics award, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, as well as Canada's annual Juno Award, granted by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for "Best Classical Album: Solo or Chamber Ensemble." BBC Music Magazine gave the recording its "highest rating," calling it the benchmark recording of the works. In October of 2001, EMI released their recording of string quartets of Tchaikovsky. In 2002 the EMI released their recording Yiddishbbuk featuring the chamber music of the celebrated Argentinean-American composer Osvaldo Golijov. The St. Lawrence was recently nominated for a Grammy as "Best Chamber Performance" for this CD, and Golijov received a nomination for "Best New Classical Composition" for the work. Continuing their close relationship with Mr. Golijov, the quartet led an ensemble for the west coast performances of his ground breaking work, La Pasión Según San Marcos.

In the 02/03 season the quartet undertook a 15-city tour of Europe and an 18-city tour of Australia and New Zealand. The quartet continued its presence in New York with their debut appearances for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. They were in recital at Metropolitan Museum in November, and will participate in a festival of the music of John Adams presented by Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series in May 2004.

The SLSQ joined forces with the renowned Pilobolus Dance Company in a collaborative evening of music and dance featuring the premiere of a work by Canadian Composer Christos Hatzis and choreographed by Michael Tracy. This exciting collaboration debuted at Stanford University's Lively Arts Series in January 2003.

A long way from their native Canada, the St. Lawrence Quartet resides in California where they are Ensemble in Residence at Stanford University. In addition to teaching in the Department of Music the group is deeply committed to bringing music to less traditional venues than the classroom or concert hall. The foursome's passion for opening up musical arenas to players and listeners alike is evident in their annual chamber music seminar for adult amateurs at Stanford and their many forays into the depths of musical meaning with preeminent music educator Robert Kapilow. Whether Lincoln Center or an elementary school classroom, the St. Lawrence players maintain a strong desire to share the wonders of chamber music with their listeners, a characteristic of the foursome that has led them to a more informal performance style than one might expect from chamber musicians. Alex Ross of The New Yorker Magazine writes, "the St. Lawrence are remarkable not simply for the quality of their music making...but for the joy they take in the act of connection."

The St. Lawrence String Quartet records exclusively for EMI/ANGEL.

CMSS 2007 Adjunct Faculty

In addition to the SLSQ, our esteemed faculty includes:

• Nina Lee, cello, USA
• Todd Palmer, clarinet, USA
• Jamie Parker, piano, Canada
• Stephen Prutsman, piano, USA

CMSS 2007 Guests and Presenters

(Watch for updates on our faculty and guests. )

Top