BFM Play it Forward Residency: Quartet Integra concert
Free ($15 suggested donation)
- Kyoka Misawa, violin
- Rintaro Kikuno, violin
- Itsuki Yamamoto, viola
- Ye Un Park, cello
For over a decade, the Festival together with the BSO has brought an emerging chamber ensemble to Bellingham in its Play it Forward Chamber Residency. Every year in the month of March, the Festival finances, houses, and transports young musicians from the prestigious Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, to Bellingham where they perform masterclasses, classroom outreach, and concerts throughout our Whatcom County middle and high schools.
About Quartet Integra
Described as having "an enormous wealth of colors… and sparkling rhythms" (All News Press), Quartet Integra is quickly developing a reputation of international prestige. In 2022, the quartet won Second Prize and the coveted Audience Award at the 2022 ARD International Music Competition, First Prize at the 2021 Bartók World Competition, and First Prize along with the Beethoven Prize and the Grand Prix Award at the 2019 Akiyoshidai Music Competition.
Quartet Integra has performed in numerous venues throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, and have collaborated with artists including Augustin Hadelich, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Fabio Bidini, Shigeo Neriki, and the Calidore String Quartet.
Consisting of first violinist Kyoka Misawa, second violinist Rintaro Kikuno, violist Itsuki Yamamoto, and cellist Ye Un Park, Quartet Integra formed in 2015 and began their studies with Kazuhide Isomura and Nobuko Yamazaki at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. They continued their academic work as a quartet as fellows at the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy.
Currently, they are the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence at the Colburn School, where they study with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith. Quartet Integra is supported by grant funding from the Matsuo Foundation and is on the roster of Japan Arts and Colburn Artists.
https://quartetintegra.com/About Bellingham Festival of Music
The Bellingham Festival of Music is one of America's premier virtuoso orchestra festivals. Each summer the Festival returns to Bellingham, Washington to perform a repertoire of the finest symphonic music. Members of the orchestra all hold artistically prestigious positions elsewhere, and many of them are principal players in major North American symphony orchestras. The Festival also features world famous guest artists and young rising stars.
http://bellinghamfestival.org/About Kyoka Misawa, violin
Japanese violinist Kyoka Misawa is pursuing her Professional Studies Certificate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music as the Chamber Ensemble-in Residence, where she studies with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith. She is a prize winner of the Bartok World Competition (Hungary), Akiyoshidai Music Competition (Japan) as a string quartet, and the Czech Republic Music Competition (Japan) as a soloist. Recently, she won 2nd prize and Audience Award in the ARD International Competition (Munich) as a string quartet.
About Rintaro Kikuno, violin
Japanese violinist Rintaro Kikuno is a member of Quartet Integra, pursuing his Artist Diploma as the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence at the Colburn Conservatory of Music. He is currently studying with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith.
Rintaro has won numerous competitions in Japan, and has also performed with the Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he studied with Ms. Akiko Tatsumi at the Toho Gakuen University of Music, and graduated as the top of his class. Rintaro currently performs on a Cesare Candi made in 1938.
About Itsuki Yamamoto, viola
Japanese violist Itsuki Yamamoto is a member of Quartet Integra. He studies with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, Clive Greensmith, and Tatjana Masurenko at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he is an Artist Diploma candidate in the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence program. Itsuki won Second Prize and the Audience Award at the 2022 ARD International Music Competition and First Prize at the 2021 Bartok World Competition as Quartet Integra.
As a soloist, Itsuki has commissioned works from Masahiro Ishijima, Tadashi Hashimoto, and Yuki Hamajima; and is himself an enthusiastic composer.
About Ye Un Park, cello
Born in 2003, South Korean cellist Ye Un Park is a member of Quartet Integra. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree along with the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence program at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, under the guidance of Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith. Previously, she has attended the Colburn Music Academy and Yewon Arts School, where she studied with Ji Hyun Oh.