The US quartet has been named the first-ever string quartet in residence of the Seattle Chamber Music Society from September 2025
The Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) has named the Balourdet Quartet as its first-ever string quartet in residence from September 2025 to May 2026.
The residency is the only one of its kind at a non-academic institution. The quartet will relocate to Seattle, WA to live as members of the community during the residency, in housing provided by Skyline Seattle, a retirement community in downtown Seattle.
The ensemble will perform in numerous engagements in all nine King County districts throughout the nine-month role, including special community events, educational initiatives, and formal concerts.
The Balourdet Quartet, comprising violinists Angela Bae and Justin DeFilippis, violist Benjamin Zannoni and cellist Russell Houston, was most recently graduate quartet in residence at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
In 2024, it received an Avery Fisher Career Grant and Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award.
’We’re honoured to be the inaugural ensemble for Seattle Chamber Music Society’s new String Quartet in Residence programme,’ said Bae. ’We look forward to an exciting 2025–26 season of performances and meaningful involvement in SCMS’s education and community outreach across King County.’
SCMS and the Balourdet Quartet will present outreach events within the Kings County community and local schools. The group will present Azure Concerts - free and engaging performances tailored to children and young adults who are on the autism spectrum; mentor and coach students from the SCMS Youth Academy; and perform in the Living Room Concert Series, at the Crescendo Concert series in private homes, and as part of the SCMS Signature Series, alongside artistic director James Ehnes and other SCMS musicians.
The residency is sponsored by Heidi Charleson, a long-time and steadfast supporter of Seattle Chamber Music Society, and takes inspiration from the taxpayer-funded programme Doors Open, which aims to make arts, science and heritage accessible for residents in the Kings County area.
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