Poiesis Quartet Begins Residency At Caramoor As The 2025–26 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence
Banff Competition winners will launch their season with the first concert of the residency on November 16, 2025.
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 27, 2025
The Poiesis Quartet, winners of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition, will begin its tenure as the 2025–2026 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, performing the first concert of the residency on Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 3 p.m. as part of the Rosen House Concert Series.
The residency marks the beginning of a yearlong collaboration that includes three performances at Caramoor and two 10-day educational engagements with over 1,000 students in Westchester County. As part of the program, Caramoor will also commission a new work by a composer chosen by the Quartet, to be premiered in summer 2026.
Formed in 2022 at Oberlin, the Poiesis Quartet—Sarah Ying Ma and Max Ball, violins; Jasper de Boor, viola; and Drew Dansby, cello—has quickly gained international recognition, also earning the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Grand Prize. Known for their expressive unity and adventurous programming, the ensemble draws its name from the Greek poiesis, meaning “to make,” reflecting their commitment to creative discovery and to amplifying underrepresented voices in chamber music.
Their opening program, titled Surfacing, explores resilience and transformation through works by Brian Raphael Nabors, Kevin Lau, Sky Macklay, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and Max Ball, blending classical, electronic, and spiritual influences. The group’s next concert at Caramoor will take place May 3, 2026, featuring works by Michi Wiancko, Eleanor Alberga, and Béla Bartók. Tickets are free for audience members ages 18 and under.
Caramoor’s Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence program, founded in 1999, supports exceptional emerging ensembles through performance and education. It complements Caramoor’s broader mentorship initiatives, including the Evnin Rising Stars program led by Marcy Rosen, which continues to cultivate the next generation of chamber musicians.
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