Music at the Fort is an annual concert series presented by Midwest Young Artists Conservatory on Sundays at 6PM. This concert is free and open to the public, but we encourage you to reserve your seat in advance. The event includes a reception. $10 suggested donation. Scroll down to reserve your seats.

This installment features Grand Prize Winner of the 2025 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition Katarina String Quartet! They are also the Graduate Resident String Quartet at The Juilliard School. You can read more about them on their website here.

Program:

Credo (2007) (19’)

Kevin Puts (b. 1972)

I. The Violin Guru of Katonah

II. Infrastructure

III. Intermezzo: Learning To Dance

IV. Credo

String Quartet No. 2 (1945) (32’)

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

I. Allegro calmo, senza rigore

II. Vivace

III. Chacony: sostenuto

Grand Prize winner of the 2025 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, the Katarina String Quartet has quickly distinguished itself as one of North America’s most compelling young ensembles. The tightly-knit and community focused ensemble currently serves as the Graduate Resident String Quartet at The Juilliard School, where they explore all chamber music, from contemporary and canonized works to folk tunes.

The KSQ’s 2025/26 season includes tours in the United States, Dubai, and Europe; performances in and around New York City, including at Carnegie Hall; and a residency at the Avaloch Farm Institute. Previous seasons have included CMS Kids, IMS Prussia Cove, and MISQA. The KSQ are recent ProQuartet Prize and Drimnin String Quartet Academy Prize winners in the 2025 Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition; previously, they were Gold Medal and BIPOC prizewinners of the 2024 St. Paul Chamber Music Competition.

The KSQ was founded in 2022 at McGill University under the tutelage of André Roy. Since then, the KSQ has worked extensively with members of the Juilliard, Alban Berg, Danel, Dover, and Pacifica Quartets, and has participated in prestigious programs such as IMS Prussia Cove and McGill International String Quartet Academy (MISQA).

The KSQ takes its name from luthier Katarina Guarneri, wife of violin-maker Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu. Scholars believe that she worked on her husband’s violins during the most productive years of his career. Inspired by Katarina, the KSQ celebrates the countless people and communities behind the canonized figureheads of classical music that contribute to the art we enjoy. Known for their personable concert presentations and community leadership, they regularly perform in community centers around New York City as recipients of Juilliard’s Gluck Fellowship.