Praised by the Toronto Star for their “emotional investment”and “decisive” interpretations, the Tokai String Quartet is one of Canada’s leading string quartets. The vibrancy that this exciting young ensemble brings to their performances is gaining them enthusiastic audiences across Canada, and has earned the Tokai Quartet a growing demand for performances.
The Tokai Quartet is a laureate of the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition and was also featured on the CBC’s ‘Music Around Us’ and ‘In Performance’. The success of these performances led to repeat invitations from the CBC for the “Music Around Us” 2005/6 series. The quartet has also been invited back to perform for the Kitchener Waterloo Chamber Society and Barrie’s ‘Colours of Music’ Festival in 2006. In 2006, The Quartet will be performing at the University of Toronto in collaboration with the St Lawrence Quartet, at the Metamorphosis Series in Peterborough and in Winnipeg at the Virtuosi Concert Series with guitarist Daniel Bolshoy.
The Tokai Quartet had its beginnings in 2002 while three of its members were students at the University of Toronto; here the Quartet benefited from the guidance of the late Lorand Fenyves. The members of the St Lawrence Quartet have also been significant mentors to the Tokai Quartet, their Summer Music Seminars at Stanford University being a source of inspiration and instruction. The Tokai Quartet has also studied with the Emerson, Ying and Orion Quartets, with Scott St. John and with Henk Guittart of the Schoenberg Quartet.
The commitment and generosity of their teachers is passed on by the Tokai Quartet in their own flourishing teaching career, which began at the University of Toronto when the Quartet was invited back to give masterclasses. This year the Tokai Quartet was ensemble-in-residence on the faculties of the Silver Creek Summer Music School at the University of Toronto and the Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute, where intensive schedules saw them coaching numerous ensembles, giving masterclasses and of course, performing.
The accomplishments of this gifted ensemble have earned the Tokai Quartet some impressive accolades. In 2003 they were recipients of the Felix Galimir Award, the University of Toronto’s highest award for chamber music. This led to a short concert tour of performances in collaboration with Scott St John, Douglas MacNabney and the St Lawrence Quartet. The following year the Tokai Quartet went on to receive the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award for Young Canadian Chamber Music Ensembles, which has facilitated their participation in residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts and at the Stanford Summer Music Festival. They were further distinguished by the award of a Debut concert fully funded by the Frederick Gaviller Music Foundation, which took place in April 2005. Most recently, Debut Atlantic awarded them an extensive concert tour of Atlantic Canada. This much anticipated event will take place in the spring of 2007.
Hi,just stopped by to listenning to your beautiful expressive playing. I like it so much. Welcome to listen to my original String Quartet # 1 performed by St.Petersburg Quartet. Cheers, Nataliya
I added a sample of my STRING QUARTET NO. 2 (THE GATHERING) performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet on the attached flash audio player and I would like to invite you to listen to it. A sample of my STRING QUARTET NO. 1 (THE AWAKENING) is still available on my MySpace audio player. Thank you for the friendship and...
.. Hi there Tokai String Quartet first of all we'd like to say thanks for being our myspace pal. We wanted to make sure you knew the reason incase we suddenly vanish off of your friends list. The movement we've started for indie artists has grown significantly and consumes all of our time these days. We seldom sign into our myspace account and this is making several people believe that we are ignoring them. We are not ignoring anyone, we wanted everyone to know that. What we're doing has become so busy we just don't have the time for myspace any longer, so in all honesty we are probably going to just close our myspace account.
Many people wanted to use us in the future so if you were one of those people you can click the link below to visit our profile which wlil provide you with more information and also give you the link to our website! I wish you the best of luck in your music career. Thanks again for being our myspace pal.
merci beaucoup, thank you for following my invitation. Need more time on your page and productions... (guess you hate slight comments too) sincerely sidejam
"The important thing is never to let oneself be guided by the opinion of one's contemporaries; to continue steadfastly on one's way without letting oneself be either defeated by failure or diverted by applause." / G. Mahler
Si oscura la vista.. La mia forza sono due occulti dardi adamantini.. Si confonde l’udito per il tuono lontano della casa paterna che respira.. dei duri muscoli i gambi si infiacchiscono come bovi canuti alla radura e non più quando è notte alle mie spalle splendono due ali… nella festa, candela, mi sono consumato.. all’alba raccogliete la mia disciolta cera e lì leggete chi piangere, di cosa andar superbi.. come, donando l’ultima porzione di letizia, morire in levità, e al riparo d’un tetto di fortuna accendersi postumi, come una parola..
Andrej Tarkovky
The sight is growing dim… My vigour are two concealed adamantine darts.. Hearing becomes confused for the far thunder of father’s house that breathes.. hard’s muscles’ stalks become weak like hoary oxen in the glade and not further, when night comes, at my shoulders two wings shine.. in the festivity like a candle, I burned out.. at dawn shelter my dissolved wax and there read whom cry, whose be proud.. as, presenting the latest joy’s share to die in lightness and sheltered by an improvised roof to catch fire posthumous like a word…
