Miami String Quartet
For more than 30 years, their diversity in programming, poise in performance, keen sense of ensemble and impeccable musicality has made the Miami String Quartet one of the most sought-after quartets in chamber music today.
Part of the Heartland Chamber Music Festival.
Ensemble Members
- Benny Kim, violin
- Scott Lee, viola
- Peter Wiley, cello
- Sean Chen, piano
Program
- A. Mozart – Piano Quartet in E flat Major, K. 493
- Robert Schumann – Piano Quintet in E flat Major, Op. 44
- String Duo to be announced
Benny Kim, Violin
Whether playing in the intimate setting of a string quartet or performing a concerto on the stage of a concert hall, Benny Kim’s “emotional depth and musical carriage are his real drawing cards. His is a style that touches the peak of romantic violin playing.” (The Washington Post) Known for his versatility as soloist, chamber musician and teacher, Kim has been described as having “titanium technique” and producing “exquisite, pearly colorations.”
In past seasons, Kim has performed with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Utah, Denver, San Diego, and Phoenix. Internationally, he has performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Orquésta Sinfonica Nacional de México, and the major orchestras of South Africa. He has been a regular at the festivals of Aspen, Bravo! Vail Valley, Chamber Music Northwest, Music from Angel Fire, Santa Fe, Savannah, SummerFest La Jolla, Tucson, and Vancouver.
Scott Lee, Viola
Scott Lee has established himself as one of the most exciting and unique violists. His exceptional musicality and virtuosic playing distinguish him as one of this generation's quintessential artists. Winner of the 1996 Concert Artists Guild Competition, he became the youngest winner in the competition’s 50-year history.
Lee has been a top prize winner in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, the William Primrose Viola Competition, and the Corpus Christi (TX) Young Artists Competition. Lee has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including, the Kansas City Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and L.A Chamber Orchestra. Other orchestral performances include the Longmont Philharmonic, and the International Sejong Soloists.
In recital, he has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Hall in New York, and Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Lee has been a featured soloist at the International Hindemith Viola Festival and at the 22nd and 24th International Viola Congresses.
Peter Wiley, Cello
Peter Wiley has played at leading festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival, for which he also tours and records. As a recitalist, he has appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. A member of the Beaux Arts Trio from 1987 to 1998, Wiley succeeded his teacher, David Soyer, as cellist of the Guarneri String Quartet from 2001 to 2009. He is a member of the piano quartet, Opus One, with Curtis faculty members Ida Kavafian and Steven Tenenbom, and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott.
Wiley entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age 13. At 20, he was named principal cello of the Cincinnati Symphony, after one year with the Pittsburgh Symphony. He made his concerto debut at Carnegie Hall in 1986 with the New York String Orchestra conducted by Alexander Schneider. A past recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Wiley joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1996. He also teaches at Bard College Conservatory of Music.
Sean Chen, Piano
A “thoughtful musician well beyond his years” (The Republic), pianist Sean Chen shares his “alluring, colorfully shaded renditions” (New York Times) and “genuinely sensitive” (LA Times) playing with audiences around the world in solo and chamber recitals, concerto performances, and master classes. He won the 2013 American Pianists Awards, placed third at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and was named a 2015 Annenberg Fellow. Chen is the Jack Strandberg/Missouri Endowed Chair Professor of Piano at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory.
Chen has performed with many prominent orchestras, including Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Kansas City, San Diego, Knoxville, Hartford, Louisiana Philharmonic, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Pasadena, Phoenix, Santa Fe, and New West Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Chamber Orchestras of Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and South Bay. He has collaborated with esteemed conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Michael Stern, Gerard Schwarz, Nicholas McGegan, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Marcelo Lehninger, and James Judd. Solo recitals have brought him to major venues worldwide, including Jordan Hall in Boston, Subculture in New York City, the American Art Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Salle Cortot in Paris.