“rich and warm tone combined with precise ensemble playing”
– Cleveland Plain Dealer

Aeolus Quartet
Isabelle Ai Durrenberger, violin
Rachel Kitagawa Shapiro, violin
Caitlin Lynch, viola
Jia Kim, cello

BIO

Acclaimed for “high-octane” performances (The Strad) and a “rich and warm tone combined with precise ensemble playing” (Cleveland Plain Dealer), the Aeolus Quartet is committed to presenting time-seasoned masterworks in dialogue with new and lesser-known works, with equal dedication and fervor.

Their open-hearted approach and expansive curiosity is reflected in recent seasons, with performances at the McCarter Theater and Princeton in collaboration with composer/guitarist Steve Mackey—including the U.S. premiere of The Ancestors for string quartet and electric guitar, a partnership with Mark Morris Dance Group that has resulted in performances hailed as “vibrant” (Wall Street Journal), and premieres of Joan Tower’s revised Wild Summer as well as the string quartet version of Andrea Casarrubios’ Overture and Chorale. Guided by a desire to connect and engage deeply with audiences, they have developed residencies at Interlochen, Stanford, and the Perlman Music Program, and regularly engage with students and the community while on tour. The Quartet has also performed for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Library of Congress, Chamber Music Detroit, Strathmore, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, and at venues across the globe.

The Aeolus Quartet’s 2026–2027 season is highlighted by co-commissions with Tippet Rise Art Center, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, and Chamber Music Columbus for a new work by composer/cellist Karen Ouzounian, and with the Ravinia Festival for a new work by Errollyn Wallen; appearances at Chamber Music Boise, Reading Friends of Chamber Music; and a residency at Marlboro Music Festival.

Continually inspired by the art of collaboration, the Aeolus Quartet has performed alongside many of today’s leading artists including Renee Fleming, Ida Kavafian, Joel Krosnick, Michael Tree, Aristo Sham, Michelle Cann, and Paul Neubauer. Strong advocates for new music, the Aeolus Quartet has premiered works by Jonathan Bailey Holland and worked closely with composers John Corigliano, Keeril Makan, Andrea Casarrubios, Missy Mazzoli, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Timothy Mauthe, and Alexandra T Bryant, among others.

They have released several critically acclaimed albums of classical and contemporary works through the Naxos and Azica labels. The Quartet’s Many-Sided Music initiative has produced two albums in an ongoing effort to promote works by American composers, and their performance in Ricky Ian Gordon’s opera Ellen West for the PROTOTYPE Festival, hailed for eliciting “dusky lyricism” (The New York Times), was released on Bright Shiny Things in 2023. They also appeared onscreen in the Netflix miniseries The Defenders in 2017.

Formed in 2008 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Quartet is named after the Greek god Aeolus, who governed the four winds: they are inspired with the idea of a single spirit uniting four individual forces as they pursue their craft. The Aeolus Quartet has been recognized with top prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Coleman International Chamber Ensemble Competition, Plowman Chamber Music Competition, and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. Dedicated to sharing the joy of chamber music with new audiences, they have been awarded with a Chamber Music America Residency Partnership Grant, 2016 Guarneri Quartet Residency, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association’s Educator Award and John Lad prize. In addition to working as teaching faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts, they have collaborated with such institutions as the Smithsonian, Juilliard School, MIT, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, University of Texas at Austin, George Washington University, University of Virginia, and Portland State University.

The Aeolus Quartet is grateful for the mentorship of Peter Salaff, Donald Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, and Mark Steinberg. They have studied extensively with the Juilliard, Guarneri, St. Lawrence, Cavani, and Miró Quartets, and held the position of graduate resident string quartet at Juilliard. Members of the Quartet hold degrees from The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Maryland, and University of Texas at Austin.

Thanks to the generosity of the Five Partners Foundation, the Aeolus Quartet plays on a set of four instruments crafted by Brooklyn luthier Samuel Zygmuntowicz.

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