Balourdet Quartet
The Balourdet Quartet, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is currently in residence at the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program. The quartet received the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition as well as the top prize awarded in the 2021 Premio Paolo Borciani in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The group also received the Gold Medal in the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition.
Highlights of the Balourdet’s 2022-23 season include appearances at Chamber Music Detroit, the Grand Piano Series in Naples, FL, NEC’s Jordan Hall, Tuesday Matinees at Merkin Hall, and Wigmore Hall. This summer, the group will also perform at the Oklahoma Mozart Festival, Music Mountain, and Bravo! Vail as well as a residency teaching and performing at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. The quartet is thrilled to premiere a new commissioned work by Karim Al-Zand during the 2022-2023 season, made possible through Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant.
The Balourdet has performed at festivals and series including Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Chigiana, La Jolla Music Society Summerfest, Montgomery Chamber Music, Santa Fe ProMusica, and the Schneider Concert Series. It works primarily with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory, as well as Miriam Fried and members of the Cleveland and Borromeo Quartets. The quartet was formed in 2018 at Rice University in Houston, Texas under the tutelage of James Dunham, Norman Fischer, and Cho-Liang Lin.
The Balourdet Quartet gets its name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community.