Who is Skyros
The Skyros Quartet brings a bright and inventive style to the performance stage, having concertized extensively on multiple continents, with their playing noted as “[taking] to each piece with a ravishing, articulate, sonically appealing approach that has passion more than sentiment, [with] fully coherent phrasing” - Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review and “The quartet plays with enthusiasm and precision” -audiophile audition. Established in 2010, they have been heard at some of the most prestigious venues and music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival and School (Aspen, Colorado), Seattle Chamber Music Society (Seattle, Washington), Deer Valley Music Festival (Park City, Utah), Sunflower Music Festival (Topeka, Kansas), QuartetFest at Sir Wilfrid Laurier University and Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society (Ontario, Canada), the CommonTone Arts Music Festival (Moscow, Idaho), and at the University of British Columbia concert series (Vancouver, Canada). Skyros has also performed on tour in Xi’an and Hangzhou, China. Skyros had the honor of giving the West Coast premiere of the newly composed Piano Quintet by Philip Glass with acclaimed concert pianist Paul Barnes who commissioned the work. Along with celebrated cellist Eric Wilson (Emerson String Quartet emeritus), the quartet gave the Canadian premiere of Mikołaj Górecki Elegy for Cello and String Quartet at the University of British Columbia.
Skyros released their debut album, INTROSPECTIVE ODYSSEY, to great international acclaim in August 2015. It can be heard on the Navona label of Parma Recordings, and includes works by Sibelius, Turina and Britten. Most recently in 2023, they released an EP recording of the string quintet My Lai with composer and pianist Peter Colclasure. As a quartet, Skyros has collaborated with many living composers in the performance of new music. Performing with the internationally celebrated percussion group arxduo, they gave the west coast premier of works for percussion duo and string quartet by Michael Laurello and Christopher Dietz. Skyros worked with internationally renowned Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks presenting many of his works for string quartet. The quartet recorded and performed the world premier of the 2017 critically-acclaimed ballet Approaching Ecstasy with contemporary dance company Whim W’him, vocal ensemble The Esoterics, and composer Eric Banks. They have commissioned and premiered string quartets by Kate Skinner (Wounded Bird, She Dances, 2021), Sabrina Clarke (On Whale Beach, 2021), Liza Sobel (Prayer, 2011), and Devin Maxwell (Bouquet Canyon, CA, 2013). They have also worked with Tonia Ko (Aspen Music Festival and School), Charlie Leftridge (in collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chamber Singers and again with the Esoterics), and Stephanie Martin (Sound in the Land conference at the University of Waterloo). In 2014, Skyros was featured at Fast Forward Austin, a new music festival in Austin, Texas. Skyros performed string trios and quartets by the four composers of the New York City W4 New Music Collective: Ruben Naeff, Molly Herron, Matt Frey, and Tim Hansen. Skyros made up the core string section of the UT New Music Ensemble for its 2011- 2012 season.
Founded in 2010, Skyros earned Masters in Chamber Music Performance from the University of Texas at Austin Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music, mentored by the Miró Quartet and Sandy Yamamoto. From 2012-2015, they served as the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music, where they completed Doctorates in Chamber Music Performance under the guidance of the Chiara String Quartet. Skyros was also mentored by Earl Carlyss (Juilliard Quartet), James Dunham (Cleveland Quartet), Sylvia Rosenberg, and members of the Takacs, American, Jupiter, and Pacifica String Quartets at the Aspen Music Festival and School Center for Advanced Quartet Studies. Skyros has also been coached extensively by the Penderecki and Muir String Quartets as well as composer Joan Tower.
Skyros is passionate about educating audiences to the wonders of the string quartet. They regularly visit schools, lead community engagement programs and interactive family concerts, enabling them to inspire audiences of all ages and musical backgrounds. In 2015, the members of Skyros developed an in-school chamber music coaching program from the educational non-profit organization Chamber Music Guild. This in-school program provides weekly coachings to young string quartets using a curriculum designed by Skyros. The members of Skyros Quartet became artistic directors of CMG in 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Skyros Quartet and CMG developed a chamber music podcast to stay connected to the larger music community called The Counterpoint Club. Members of Skyros have also served as faculty at Seattle University, Edmonds Community College, Union College (Lincoln, Nebraska), and the University of Texas at Austin String Project. At UNL, they were Graduate Teaching Assistants for chamber music outreach and a teaching-artist class that works with students to develop interactive presentations for children.
In February 2020, Skyros Quartet formed Constellation Creatives, their own non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Constellation Creatives champions innovative experiences of storytelling through the lens of chamber music with a vision to forge an interactive cultural institution embedded in the Puget Sound community.
Masterclasses and Festivals
The Skyros Quartet is passionate about educating future generations of chamber musicians. Skyros has led chamber music masterclasses and lectures at institutions such as Seattle University, the University of Victoria, University of Washington, University of British Columbia, the University of Northern Colorado, and Central Washington University. Since 2017, the members of Skyros have led Chamber Music Guild Summer Student Festival (formerly known as Tuned In!). In addition, they have served as faculty at the Japan Seattle Suzuki Institute, Tucson Junior Strings Chamber Music in the Mountains, Concerts in the Barn Music Intensive (Quilcene, WA).
Chamber Music Guild
The Skyros Quartet serves as the Artistic Director of Chamber Music Guild (CMG, formerly Chamber Music Madness), a non-profit chamber music education organization in Seattle, WA.
CMG hosts a variety of programs for youth and adult chamber musicians, such as The Counterpoint Club podcast, an In-School Coaching Program, the annual Summer Student Festival, and biannual Discovery Workshops for youth and adults. The mission of CMG is to provide educational and inspirationing chamber music experiences for youth and adults, fostering life-long learning and an ever-expanding community of chamber music players.
The Counterpoint Club (TCC) is a chamber music educational podcast. The newest CMG program, TCC debuted in the summer of 2020. TCC is a new and innovative genre of chamber music education for the current times, when traditional teaching and learning methods for instrumental and choral music are not possible. The podcast explores chamber music history, outlines rehearsal and performance techniques, and features conversations with special guests. Created and hosted by the Skyros Quartet, the episodes of the podcast form a unique and engaging curriculum-based learning resource.
The Counterpoint Club is available for free on all major podcast platforms and is enjoyed by student musicians ages 13 and older, adult amateur musicians, and professional musicians, both performers and educators. The podcast website, www.thecounterpointclub.org, augments the learning experience with supplementary examples, resources, and a downloadable worksheet for each episode. Middle and high school music teachers can utilize The Counterpoint Classroom, a method developed by the Skyros Quartet to incorporate the podcast into virtual classroom settings.
Special guests interviewed on the podcast include internationally renowned violinist Augustin Hadelich, and violist John Largess from the celebrated Miró Quartet. Other guests include alumni of Chamber Music Madness, such as acclaimed baroque violinist Rachell Ellen Wong who was awarded a 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the contemporary Northwest Celtic band The Gothard Sisters.
Chamber Music Guild Summer Student Festival, (formerly Tuned In!) is a week-long summer camp held each July in Seattle. Led by the Skyros Quartet, students aged 13-24. Participants receive multiple daily coachings and perform in masterclasses for the Skyros Quartet. Activities during the week include a master class by a Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) guest artist, fun sight-reading sessions, and theatre arts and yoga for musicians. Students can expect to improve their skills and musicianship, experience the joy of small ensemble music-making, and become more expressive players.
Teaching-artistry
Teaching-artistry is a core component of the Skyros Quartet's mission. As teaching-artists, they have engaged with audiences of all sizes and ages. In their formative years, the members of Skyros trained with the Chiara and Miró Quartets, where they learned to create interactive performances that educate and inspire. At UNL, they served as graduate teaching assistants for a teaching-artist class and represented the university at a variety of community engagement events.
“A teaching artist is a practicing professional artist with the complementary skills, curiosities and sensibilities of an educator, who can effectively engage a wide range of people in learning experiences in, through, and about the arts.”
interactive performances
The Skyros Quartet is always adding to their repertoire of interactive performances for all types of audiences. The following list represents a range of recent programs:
Musical Cryptograms in Shostakovich's Eighth String Quartet - After hearing the opening minutes of the work, participants work in groups to compose and perform a musical cryptogram of their own design. Following a complete performance of the first movement of the quartet, participants discuss and reflect on how the composition activity affects one’s perception of Shostakovich’s musical cryptograms. Musical Cryptograms was first presented in 2015 at the University of Northern Colorado.
The Little Engine That Could - Travel the railroads in a musical narration of the beloved classic The Little Engine That Could. Selections from chamber music favorites by Dvořák, Beethoven, Schubert, Barber, Mendelssohn, and an arrangement of Brubeck's Take 5 accompany the narrative and bring the story of overcoming challenges to life. All aboard!
skyros in the schools
The Skyros Quartet has a variety of school-specific programs that are suitable for a wide variety of classroom and assembly performances. From orchestra leadership workshops to general music classes to school wide assemblies, Skyros' custom programs are flexible and are tailored to each specific presentation. See the brochure below for more information about Skyros' educational offerings.
Especially powerful are Skyros' orchestral recruitment visits. While in Lincoln, Skyros visited all five 3rd grade general music classes at Maxey Elementary in the Spring of 2013, seen in the photos above. Just as predicted by teacher Sylvia Bailey in (Maxey Music Students Get Serious with the Skyros Quartet) about the visits, over 90 students joined the school's beginning orchestra the next fall.
“Then it was time to say goodbye. But before they left Sarah Pizzichemi had a question: Would any of you like to play the violin in the Maxey orchestra next year? Lot’s of hands went up. “How about the viola?” asked Justin Kurys. “And don’t forget the cello!” added William Braun. From the number of hands that went up it was clear that Maxey Elementary School would have a grand orchestra next year.”