The Banff International String Quartet Competition is held once in three years at the
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise. At above Banff is the community with the second highest ...
, Canada.
History
The competition was organized in 1983 by Kenneth Murphy to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
Banff Centre
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...
for the Arts, at which he was the assistant artistic director for musical programs. It is now recognised as one of the world's major string quartet competitions.
Competition details
Ten quartets from around the world are selected to take part in the semi-final competition. All members of the quartets must be under the age of 35. After playing various styles of both traditional and modern chamber music before audiences over a period of several days, three finalist groups are chosen. After further performances these are judged and a winner chosen.
Each year the winning ensemble receives a cash prize and a three-year career development programme, including a recording session at Banff Centre and a performance tour of European and North American cities. There is also a cash prize for second place and smaller specific prizes.
Winners
In 2010, the Cecilia String Quartet of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
took the top prize in the competition.
The winner of the 2013 competition was the
Dover Quartet
The Dover Quartet is an American string quartet. It was formed at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2008 and its members are graduates of both the Curtis Institute of Music and the Rice University Shepherd School of Music. Its name is taken from t ...
, an American ensemble.
In 2016 the winner of the competition was the
Rolston String Quartet.
In 2019, the First Prize was, for the first time, shared between two groups: the
Marmen Quartet (UK) and the
Viano String Quartet (Canada/USA). The Second Prize was awarded to the
Callisto Quartet (USA).
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.banffcentre.ca/bisqc
Music competitions in Canada
Festivals in Banff, Alberta