Cecilian Chamber Series – Poiesis Quartet
When
- January 31, 2027 - Showtime: 3:00pm
Links
Seasons of Renewal
2025 Grand Prize Winner of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Poiesis Quartet brings a remarkable diversity of styles to the stage, showing equal mastery of the tango world of Piazzolla, the profundity of late Beethoven, and the transformative musical landscape of Canadian composer Kevin Lau.
A champion of the music of our day, the Poiesis Quartet opens their program with “Many Many Cadences” by American composer Sky Macklay, who “stretches the listeners’ perception of cadences by recontextualizing [them] in very fast cells that are constantly changing key and register”. Stability as we know it is completely de-stabilized - but to contrast, the chill vibes of Piazzolla’s “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” invite the listener to sit back and enjoy the sounds and emotions of Buenos Aires, birthplace of both the tango and the composer himself.
To follow is one of the Poiesis Quartet’s most meaningful commissions, Canadian composer Kevin Lau’s String Quartet No. 7 entitled “Surfacing”, featured in their grand-prize-winning performance in Banff. The piece was inspired by a familial trauma, when the composer’s newborn son was diagnosed with a rare liver disease; navigating the parallel processes of recovery and growth, it surfaces from the depths of strife and hardship with a renewed exuberance. This feeling of optimistic renewal also pervades Beethoven’s final string quartet. Unexpectedly light and uplifting in its overall tone, his pensive side is nonetheless also revealed. In the final movement, he writes cryptically the following motto: “Must it be? – It must be, it must be!”
Tickets are $70 for Level 1, $65 for Level 2, and $25 for students. Prices are inclusive of fees and taxes. Seating is assigned.
Single tickets go on sale on August 15, 2026.
