“an enormous wealth of colors… and sparkling rhythms”
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 and the Prize of Beethoven and Grand Prix Award at the 2019 Akiyoshidai Music Competition. Additionally, Quartet Integra have received the Banca Monte dei Paschi Prize in the 2021 Accademia Musicale Chigiana, the Kirishima International Music Festival Prize and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi Music Director Prize in the 2021 Kirishima International Music Festival.
Quartet Integra’s recent and upcoming performances include a New York debut at the Schneider Concert series at the New School, a recital as part of the Discovery Series at the La Jolla Music Society, the ECHO Chamber Music Series, the Nevada Chamber Music Festival, Santa Ynez Valley Series, and performance in Thayer and Zipper Halls at the Colburn School. Additionally, they have given many recitals in Germany, such as Bad Tölz and Frankfurt, including the world-renowned Alte Oper Frankfurt. In Japan, they have over twenty performances at venues such as Tokyo Opera City, Toppan Hall, and Suntory Hall. Quartet Integra has performed and worked with artists including Augustin Hadelich, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Kazuhide Isomura, Inon Barnatan, Fabio Bidini, Shigeo Neriki, and Orion Weiss.
Who we are
Quartet Integra, consisting of first violinist Kyoka Misawa, second violinist Rintaro Kikuno, violist Itsuki Yamamoto, and cellist Ye Un Park, 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. They are currently enrolled in the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence Program at the Colburn School, where they study with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, Clive Greensmith. Quartet Integra is supported by grant funding from the Matsuo Foundation and are on the roster of Colburn Artists.
Quartet Integra is an active festival participant. They were invited by Günter Pichler (formerly Alban Berg Quartet) to attend the Chigiana Summer Festival in Siena on a scholarship, and have also attended festivals such as Crans Montana Classics, Toyama Chamber Music Festival, and the Kirishima International Music Festival. Past performances include the Suntory Chamber Music Garden Festival, the Kanazawa, Hukuyama and Takefu International Festivals, among others. Also committed to contemporary works, Quartet Integra has commissioned many new works by Japanese composers and has given over a dozen world premieres. They have participated in coachings and master classes with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Milena Pajaro-Van de Stadt, Jean-Guihen Queyras, and members of the Jerusalem, Henschel, Atrium, Voce and Shanghai String Quartets.
Quartet Integra, consisting of first violinist Kyoka Misawa, second violinist Rintaro Kikuno, violist Itsuki Yamamoto, and cellist Ye Un Park, formed in 2015 and began their studies with Kazuhide Isomura and Nobuko Yamazaki at Toho Gakuen School of Music. They continued their academic work as a quartet as Fellows at the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy. They are currently enrolled in the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence Program 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 Colburn Artists.