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  • About
    • About LAMF
    • Artistic Leadership
    • Board + Administration
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Contact
  • Musicians
    • 2020 Artists
    • Thalea String Quartet
    • 2020 Vocal Fellows
  • Listening Library
  • Concerts
    • Transcending the Night – Feb 27
    • Beauty in Chaos, Hope in Order
    • Love Letters
    • 2020 Season
      • Voices of Youth – 7/31
      • A Night at the Opera – 8/1
      • Giving Thanks – 8/2
      • Imagining America – 8/5
      • City of Angels – 8/7
      • Paradox of Praise – 8/8
      • Suites Francaises – 8/9
      • Requiem – 8/12
      • Reflection – 8/14
      • Nightmares and Dreams – 8/15
      • Digital Finale – 8/16
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • A Night at the Opera
    • Water Music
  • Programs
    • Explore Music!
    • LAMFcast
      • Symphony 101
      • In Depth with Allison Chu
      • Musician Coffee Q&As
    • Music Mentors Project
    • Outreach
    • String Quartet Residency
    • Vocal Fellowship
  • Support
    • Volunteer
    • Contribute
      • Make A Gift
      • MusicMakers
      • Planned Giving
    • Sponsors

2020 Residents:
THALEA STRING QUARTET

Now a permanent program of the Lakes Area Music Festival, our String Quartet Residency provides one emerging professional ensemble with a paid summer of intensive rehearsal and extensive performance.

We are pleased to present the Thalea String Quartet of Austin, TX as our 2020 Resident Quartet. Check back through the Spring to learn more about their performance schedule including eight Prelude Series concerts and two formal recitals, in Minneapolis and Brainerd.

“Thalea never failed to deliver a stirring performance” – Calgary Herald

The Thalea String Quartet is dedicated to bringing timeless music to audiences from all walks of life. From living rooms to concert stages around the world, the Thalea String Quartet aims to connect with audiences on a musical, emotional, and personal level, from first time listeners to string quartet aficionados. They are devoted to building a new and diverse audience for chamber music through innovative programming and community engagement.

Formed in 2014 at the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival in Courmayeur, Italy, the Thalea String Quartet has been praised for their “vibrant performance” and “sincere expressivity” (SF Classical Voice). The quartet has performed recitals across Europe, China, the United States, and Canada, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Massey Hall, and Weill Hall at Carnegie hall. They were the first quartet-in-residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2015-17. They currently serve as the Young Professional String Quartet at the Butler School of Music, where they are mentored by the highly acclaimed Miró Quartet. They also serve as Associated Artists at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo, Belgium, where they are mentored by the Artemis Quartet. The Thalea String Quartet were top prize winners at both the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2018 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, and they were named the Ernst Stiefel Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts for the 2019/20 season.

The Thalea String Quartet prides itself on the diversity of its collaborations. They have performed Mendelssohn’s Octet in its original manuscript form with the award-winning Borromeo Quartet and shared the stage with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw in performances of works for voice and string quartet. They have performed alongside Geoff Nuttall of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, violist Jodi Levitz and composer Mason Bates. They were invited to participate in the 2017 KRONOS Festival, where they performed works from the Kronos Quartet’s “50 for the Future” Project. Committed to collaborating with artists of all backgrounds, the Thalea String Quartet has collaborated with San Francisco-based dance theatre company the Joe Goode Performance Group at the Yerba Buena Center, appeared with acclaimed Canadian band BADBADNOTGOOD at the iconic Massey Hall.

The members of the Thalea String Quartet are dedicated educators and bring their commitment to teaching and community engagement to their frequent educational and community performances. They have performed educational concerts to students of all ages and regularly perform at care facilities and schools across the United States.

Christopher Whitley (violin) is originally from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Kumiko Sakamoto (violin) is from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada; Luis Bellorín (viola) is from Naperville, Illinois, and Titilayo Ayangade (cello) is from Cincinnati, Ohio. Christopher performs on the 1700 “Taft” Stradivari, generously on loan by the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

The Thalea String Quartet is a fiscally-sponsored affiliate of InterMusic SF, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to small-ensemble music in the San Francisco Bay Area. Represented in North America by Lisa Sapinkopf Artists

  • Christopher Whitley

    Violin
    Thalea String Quartet
  • Kumiko Sakamoto

    Violin
    Thalea String Quartet
  • Luis Bellorín

    Viola
    Thalea String Quartet
  • Titilayo Ayangade

    Cello
    Thalea String Quartet
This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Crane Group.

Lakes Area Music Festival

Mail:
P.O. Box 96
Brainerd MN 56401

Office Location:
715 Laurel Street
Brainerd MN 56401

Phone: 218-ASK-LAMF  (218-275-5263)
Email: info@lakesareamusic.org

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  • About
    • About LAMF
    • Artistic Leadership
    • Board + Administration
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Contact
  • Musicians
    • 2020 Artists
    • Thalea String Quartet
    • 2020 Vocal Fellows
  • Listening Library
  • Concerts
    • Transcending the Night – Feb 27
    • Beauty in Chaos, Hope in Order
    • Love Letters
    • 2020 Season
      • Voices of Youth – 7/31
      • A Night at the Opera – 8/1
      • Giving Thanks – 8/2
      • Imagining America – 8/5
      • City of Angels – 8/7
      • Paradox of Praise – 8/8
      • Suites Francaises – 8/9
      • Requiem – 8/12
      • Reflection – 8/14
      • Nightmares and Dreams – 8/15
      • Digital Finale – 8/16
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • A Night at the Opera
    • Water Music
  • Programs
    • Explore Music!
    • LAMFcast
      • Symphony 101
      • In Depth with Allison Chu
      • Musician Coffee Q&As
    • Music Mentors Project
    • Outreach
    • String Quartet Residency
    • Vocal Fellowship
  • Support
    • Volunteer
    • Contribute
      • Make A Gift
      • MusicMakers
      • Planned Giving
    • Sponsors
Lakes Area Music Festival