Daniel Chong - violin

Karen Kim - violin

Jessica Bodner - viola

Kee-Hyun Kim - cello

Winner, 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition

Winner, 2005 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition

The New York Times calls the Parker String Quartet, winner of Concert Artists Guild’s 2005 Competition, “something extraordinary.” The Boston Globe hails its “fiercely committed performances,” and The Washington Post declares it “a quartet that deserves close attention.” Three months after its win at the CAG Competition, the Quartet captured First Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, enhancing its international reputation.

The Quartet’s 2007-08 season includes debut performances at the Mostly Mozart and Caramoor Festivals as well as engagements with the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, the Concord Chamber Music Society and at Shriver Hall in Baltimore. The Quartet collaborates with CAG pianist Soyeon Lee, performing Schumann’s Piano Quintet for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Music in the Park in St. Paul. The group also tours Europe in connection with its victory at the Bordeaux Competition.

Equally at home in a famous concert hall or a downtown club, the Parker Quartet embraces opportunities to bring its music to new ears in non-traditional spaces. The ensemble performs in bars and clubs nationwide, and its performances in these venues have been covered with features in Time Out NY, The Boston Globe, Chamber Music Magazine and Musical America.com. In Fall 2007, the group continues on this ground breaking path becoming the first ever String Quartet in Residence at Barbes Bar and Performance Space in Brooklyn. As part of this residency, the Parker String Quartet performs a series of collaborative concerts with artists of various genres including jazz, folk and world.

The Parker Quartet recorded its debut CD in Paris for the Zig Zag label, featuring Bartok’s String Quartets Nos. 2 and 5, which is scheduled for release in fall of 2007. Also in 2007, the ensemble steps back into the studio to record the complete string quartets of the late György Ligeti for Naxos.

Recent highlights include stops at Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series, the Wolf Trap Discovery Series, Ravinia’s Rising Stars Series, Boston’s Jordan Hall and Gardner Museum, the Cerritos Center, Clark Memorial Library at UCLA, the Phillips Collection and New York’s Merkin Concert Hall and Schneider Concerts. The Quartet has also performed at Symphony Space’s Thalia Theater as part of CAG’s New Works Series and at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on CAG’s Winners Series.

Also recognized for traditional residences, the Quartet’s honors include being named the seventh Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence of the Caramoor Center, including a three week long educational residency culminating in performances at the Center. In addition, the Parker String Quartet has been ensemble-in-residence at the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival.

The Parker String Quartet was recently selected for the prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program at the New England Conservatory of Music, where the group was founded and also where it was selected in 2002 and 2003 as the NEC’s Honors Ensemble. All of the quartet's members are presently pursuing graduate degrees in performance and chamber music at the New England Conservatory.

June 2007