Avalon String Quartet, Quartet

Biography

Hailed as "one of the most exciting young string quartets in America" (The Washington Post) the Avalon String Quartet has established itself as one of the country's leading chamber ensembles and has earned international acclaim for the bold musicality and passionate intensity of its performances.  John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune writes in his September 21, 2009 review: "Artist-faculty quartet-in-residence at Northern Illinois University since 2007, the Avalon Quartet is an enormous boon to the thriving local chamber music scene. This is quite simply one of the most polished and dynamic young string quartets I have come across.

Formed in 1995 at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Quartet came to the fore after participating in Isaac Stern's Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall in 1997. As a result, Mr. Stern invited the Avalon Quartet to perform in the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Encounters in Jerusalem and in March 2000 presented the ensemble's Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall. The Quartet made its New York debut on the Alexander Schneider Series at the New School in 1998. The quartet won First Prize, the Channel Classics Prize, and the Rockport Chamber Music Festival Prize at the 1999 Concert Artists Guild Competition, which led to the critically acclaimed recording "Dawn To Dusk". In 2000 the quartet won top prize at the ARD Competition in Munich, Germany.

The quartet is in residence at Northern Illinois University, a position formerly occupied by the distinguished Vermeer Quartet. As a part of their residency, they perform four programs annually in DeKalb and Chicago, and the members teach individual studios and coach chamber music at the school. This follows previous residencies at the Juilliard School and at Indiana University South Bend.

The Quartet has performed in many of the major halls, including Alice Tully Hall in New York, 92nd St Y, Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress in Washington DC, Wigmore Hall and Herculessaal in Munich. Other performances include appearances at the Caramoor Music Festival in NY, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, NPR's St Paul Sunday Radio, Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Isabella Gardner Museum, Barge Music, and the Ravinia Festival.

Dedicated educators, the Avalons have taught at the Interlochen Quartet Institute, the Green Lake Music Camp in Wisconsin, the Britten-Pears School in England and the Juilliard School. The quartet is also dedicated to outreach in various communities, including working with the Center for Abused Children in Hartford and also with the Music for Youth Organization that works with the Bridgeport and Trumbull School Systems.

The Quartet's live performances and conversation have been featured on New York's WQXR-FM and WNYC-FM, National Public Radio's Performance Today, Canada's CBC, Australia's ABC and France Musique.

French violinist Blaise Magniere is a highly acclaimed chamber musician, active both in the U.S and abroad. As a founding member of the Avalon String Quartet, he was the top prizewinner of the Munich ARD Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Competition. He has appeared at venues such as Wigmore Hall, the Schneider Series at Carnegie Hall, Ravinia Festival, Mostly Mozart, La Jolla Festival and the Caramoor Festival. He has recorded for the New Tangent and Channel Classics labels, and earned the 2002 Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Award. He is presently teaching at Northern Illinois University.

Canadian violinist Marie Wang received a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from McGill University, studying with Mauricio Fuks, and a master’s degree in performance from Northern Illinois University, where she studied with Mathias Tacke and Shmuel Ashkenasi.  She holds an Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School and also was a student of Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music.  Prior to her appointment at NIU, she was an Artist in Residence at Indiana University South Bend.

Professor Wang is a founding member of the Avalon String Quartet, and, as a member of the quartet, she has captured top prizes at the Concert Artists Guild and Munich ARD international competitions. The quartet has been invited to perform at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie & Weill Halls, Alice Tully, 92nd St Y, Herculessaal (Munich),and the Library of Congress, among others. They have also appeared at festivals such as Caramoor, Mostly Mozart, La Jolla, Ravinia, Bath, and Aldeburgh. 

As violist of the Avalon String Quartet Anthony Devroye has performed throughout the United States and in France and South Korea, and is a faculty artist-in-residence at Northern Illinois University.  Previously Mr. Devroye played with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, where he frequently led the viola section under Michael Tilson Thomas and appeared as soloist with the orchestra.  Additional orchestral performances include the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Grant Park Music Festival.  As a chamber musician Mr. Devroye has performed at the Ravinia, Norfolk and Angel Fire festivals. 

Cellist Cheng-Hou Lee, a native of Taiwan, has worked with world-renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, Mistilav Rostropovich, Steven Isserlis, Gary Hoffman, and members of the Juilliard, Tokyo, and Alban Berg Quartets. He has made solo and chamber music appearances throughout the United States, and also toured in Germany, Italy, Hong-Kong, and throughout Taiwan.  As a chamber musician, Mr. Lee performed with renowned pianist Ruth Laredo, cellist Paul Katz, violist Kim Kashkashian, the Boromeo String Quartet, the Miami String Quartet, and American composer William Bolcom.   He is currently the cellist of the Avalon Quartet.