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formosa quartet

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Winners of the First Prize and the Amadeus Prize at the Tenth London International String Quartet Competition in 2006, the Formosa Quartet was formed in 2003 when the four founding members came together for a concert tour of Taiwan, the land of their shared heritage. Reviewing their critically acclaimed debut CD released by EMI, the Strad states, “their imaginative account of Mozart … is spellbinding,” while Gramophone describes their playing as “remarkably fine both in meticulous response to the letter and in a desire to look beyond the notes.” With recent performances at the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Cultural Center, Wigmore Hall, and the Royal Academy of Music, the Formosa Quartet’s 2007-08 season will include concerts at the New School in New York, the Caramoor Festival, the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., San Francisco State University, the Da Camera Society of Los Angeles, as well as a winner’s tour of the UK.

In addition to their performances of traditional repertoire, the Formosa Quartet has also embraced the works of contemporary composers, with an upcoming world premiere of Shih-hui Chen’s Mei Hua for String Quartet at the Caramoor Festival, as well as performances of pieces by Bright Sheng and Richard Wilson.

The members of the Formosa Quartet – Jasmine Lin, Scott Lee, Che-Yen Chen, and Ru-Pei Yeh – have already established themselves as leading solo, chamber, and orchestral musicians. With degrees from the Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, the Curtis Institute of Music, they have performed in major venues around the United States, Asia, Europe, and South America. They have been top prizewinners in the Primrose, Tertis, Paganini, and Naumburg competitions. As chamber musicians, they have appeared regularly at the Marlboro, Caramoor, and Ravinia festivals, and at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. They have held title positions in the San Diego and Cincinnati Symphonies and have been on the chamber music faculty at Interlochen, University of California San Diego, Univeristy of Missouri Kansas City, McGill University, Taos School of Music, and Northwestern University.

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