Orion String Quartet Honored with CMS Award for Extraordinary Service to Chamber Music

Over thirty-seven illustrious seasons, the Orion String Quartet has appeared in hundreds of concerts worldwide. Since 1994, the ensemble has regularly blessed CMS stages, performing virtually the entire standard string quartet repertoire, from Bach to Schoenberg, Haydn to Bartók, and beyond. In one of its most memorable series at CMS, the Quartet performed the Beethoven cycle free to the public in 2000, drawing thousands of listeners to the art form.

The Quartet has also recorded to great acclaim the complete string quartet cycles of Beethoven and Kirchner, as well as numerous other individual works from Mendelssohn to Wynton Marsalis. Their collaborators and mentors have included the most distinguished artists of our time, from Pablo Casals to Rudolf and Peter Serkin, and from Isaac Stern to the Végh, Galimir, Budapest, and Guarneri string quartets. The Quartet has also made major contributions to the literature with more than twenty commissions.

Furthermore, the members of the Quartet have remained committed to passing their artistry to the next generation, through teaching affiliations with multiple institutions such as the Mannes School of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Juilliard School.

The Orion String Quartet’s performances have set the highest standard for the art of quartet playing, and the ensemble has had an enduring impact on the world of classical music.