Poiesis Quartet wins Grand Prize at Banff International String Quartet Competition

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta, Canada announced the Poiesis Quartet as the grand prize winner of the 15th triennial Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC). The CCM graduate student ensemble consists of artist diploma students Sarah Ying Ma (she/they) on violin, Max Ball (he/they) on violin, Jasper de Boor (they/them) on viola and Drew Dansby (he/him) on cello.

This year’s edition was one of the most competitive in the competition’s four-decade history. Nine quartets from across the world presented dynamic programs curated from extensive repertoire lists designed to highlight their individuality and versatility. The rounds included the 21st Century Haydn Round, Romantic Round, Canadian Commission Round and Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century Round. The week culminated in the Finals Round where three finalists played a program of their own curation.

“Throughout this rigorous week, Poiesis Quartet impressed the jury and inspired our audience,” said Barry Shiffman, Director, BISQC. “We are all excited to work together to help them realize their dream.” Competition jury members include Marie Chilemme, Jonathan Crow, Eugene Drucker, Honggang Li, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Eckart Runge and David Ying.

For the final round of the competition, Poiesis Quartet’s selections included CCM alumnus Brian Raphael Nabors' String Quartet. Poiesis’ full competition repertoire included:

21st Century Haydn Round

• Sky Macklay: Many Many Cadences (2015)
• Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 71, No. 2 in D Major

Romantic Round

• Johannes Brahms: String Quartet No. 3 in B flat Major, Op. 67

Canadian Commission Round

• Kati Agócs: Rapprochement

Beethoven/Schubert + 20th Century

• Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 3 in C Major - Andante con moto - Allegro vivace
• Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 5, Sz. 102

Finals

• Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate: Pisachi (Reveal) for String Quartet
• Brian Raphael Nabors: String Quartet
• Joe Hisaishi: String Quartet No. 1 – Phosphorescent Sea
• Kevin Lau: String Quartet No. 7

“Congratulations to Poiesis Quartet! I’m so proud that Banff Centre can play a part in what promises to be a long and impressive career in classical music,” said Chris Lorway, President and CEO of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Poiesis Quartet is awarded the BISQC grand prize — a custom-designed, three-year artistic and career development program which includes:

• $25,000 CAD cash prize;
• Winner’s Concert Tours in career-building markets across North America with MKI Artists and Europe with Kozertdirektion Hamplin, arranged by Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity;
• A two-week residency at Banff Centre including a recording produced by Banff Centre;
• Coaching, career guidance and mentorship;
• Southern Methodist University Peak Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence Prize which includes a one-year paid visiting residency at the Meadows School involving performances, coaching and mentorship, valued at over $110,000 CAD;
• A residency with the Esterházy Foundation, including concerts at Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt and the Lucerne Festival;
• An opportunity for a two-week Chamber Music Residency at the prestigious Britten Pears Arts in England.

Now in their second year at CCM, Poiesis is an “ensemble to watch” (Hyde Park Herald). In 2023, they were named the Grand Prize, Gold Medal and Lift Every Voice prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. In May 2024, Poiesis joined the Concert Artists Guild roster for North American management as winners of the Louis and Susan Meisel Competition. In October 2024, Poiesis released their debut album as we are. The album features Poiesis and mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby in world premiere recordings of pieces by Clint Needham and Richard Stout. Learn more about the album.

An “ensemble to watch” (Hyde Park Herald), the Poiesis Quartet won the 1st Prize and Commission Prize of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2023, they were named the Grand Prize, Gold Medal, and Lift Every Voice prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. In May 2024, Poiesis joined the Concert Artists Guild roster for North American management as winners of the Louis and Susan Meisel Competition. 

Derived from ancient Greek (ποιεῖν), the word Poiesis means “to make”; specifically, to create something that has never existed before. With a focus on expanding the string quartet repertoire with vibrant new works by emerging composers, the Poiesis Quartet infuses each performance with unique moments of synchronicity and verve. Their 2024 debut album ‘as we are’ on the Bright Shiny Things label, which features world premiere recordings with mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby, was lauded for the quartet’s “bottomless depth” (Cleveland Classical). Having had presented several world premieres of works by composers including Brian Raphael Nabors, Kitty Brazelton, and Cara Haxo, their commission of String Quartet No. 7 ‘Surfacing’ by Chinese-Canadian composer Kevin Lau received its world premiere at the Chautauqua Institution in 2025. Furthermore, the Oberlin Commission Project (TOCP), an exciting new endeavor spearheaded by Poiesis, presents the world premieres of five newly commissioned works by LGBTQ+ composers of color from Oberlin Conservatory in March 2026. 

Poiesis is honored to be selected as the 2025-26 Ernst Stiefl Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. Additionally, as the 2025 St. Lawrence Emerging String Quartet in Residence at Stanford University, Poiesis has also previously acted as ensemble-in-residence of concertnova, a Cincinnati-based collective which presents multi-sensorial and interdisciplinary concert experiences. Recent and upcoming engagements include the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Newport Classical, Chamber Music Raleigh, Noe Music, Guarneri Hall, and the Austin Chamber Music Center, amongst others. Highlights of the 2025-26 season include performances of ‘Absolute Jest’ with the Dayton Philharmonic in Dayton, OH as well as with the Oberlin Orchestra in Cleveland’s renowned Severance Hall. Poiesis has also completed multiple international residencies in Punta del Diablo and Punta del Este, Uruguay; the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy; the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia, CAN; the University of Victoria in British Columbia, CAN; and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in France. Additionally, the Poiesis was selected as the only North American ensemble to compete in the prestigious 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition in Alberta, CAN.

The Poiesis Quartet is currently the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) studying under the Ariel Quartet. As graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory, they were previously mentored by Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica Quartet and members of the Verona Quartet. As a multi-faceted ensemble, in addition to their performance degrees from Oberlin, members of the quartet also individually received formal education in disciplines such as chemistry, comparative American studies, feminist studies, baroque, and jazz. When not playing chamber music, Poiesis loves to learn new languages, share ice cream cakes, and take long walks on the beach.

Members of the Poiesis Quartet play on instruments and bows generously loaned by Jonathan Solars Fine Violins.

CCM boasts a world-class Chamber Music department with a decades-long history of excellence in chamber music instruction and performance.

String, brass, wind, piano, percussion and vocal students in the chamber program play in one or more of the 70+ chamber ensembles each semester, receive weekly chamber music coachings, attend and perform in master classes given by acclaimed visiting artists, and have numerous opportunities to perform both on and off campus, including Chamber Bashes at the end of every semester.

Each Spring, students may apply to the annual CCM Chamber Competition, where they compete for six cash prizes across two divisions, with the winners performing in a double recital event that is a highlight of the CCM chamber program.

Featured image at the top: The four members of Poiesis Quartet performing during BISQC.