28th Annual Winter Chamber Music Festival showcases world-class ensembles

• Festival opens Friday, Jan. 10 with the Dover Quartet featuring works by acclaimed composer Jerod Tate 

• New additions to the series include Trio Valtorna, Norway’s Vertavo String Quartet and the award-winning Viano Quartet 

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The Winter Chamber Music Festival returns for its 28th year at the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. The seven-concert series features internationally acclaimed chamber ensembles performing classical and contemporary works.  

Highlights include Quartet-in-Residence the Dover Quartet, performing Jan.10 with a program featuring works and a performance by American Indian classical composer and Bienen alumnus Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. The Grammy-winning Chicago-based quartet Third Coast Percussion performs Saturday, Jan. 11.  

Three new groups join the series this year: Trio Valtorna, the Vertavo String Quartet and the Viano Quartet — winners of the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition. 

Running weekends from Jan. 10 through Jan. 26, the festival is directed by Blair Milton, Bienen associate professor and former Chicago Symphony Orchestra violinist, who founded the event. All performances take place in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive on the Evanston campus.  

Winter Chamber Music Festival subscriptions and single tickets may be purchased by phone at 847-467-4000, online or in person at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall during ticket office hours. 

Media interested in covering the festival should request tickets in advance by emailing Stephen Lewis at stephen.j.lewis@northwestern.edu. 

2025 Full Program Lineup 

Dover Quartet 
Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. 

The Dover Quartet’s 2024-25 season includes collaborative performances with pianists Michelle Cann, Marc-André Hamelin and Haochen Zhang, as well as premieres of two works by leading American Indian composer Jerod Impichaachaaha’ Tate, a citizen of the Chickasaw nation. Tate will be performing with the Dover Quartet. His works were jointly commissioned by the Bienen School, the Curtis Institute of Music and a collective of chamber music presenters across the U.S. The quartet’s program features these works as well as music by Jessie Montgomery and Antonín Dvořák. 

Third Coast Percussion with Jessie Montgomery 
Saturday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. 

Grammy-winning composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery joins the Grammy-winning Chicago-based Third Coast Percussion — featuring David Skidmore, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and Sean Connors — all Bienen School graduates —for the first performance of their new program, “Strum, Strike, Bend,” featuring music by Montgomery, Jlin, Tigran Hamasyan and Lou Harrison. Joining Montgomery and Third Coast Percussion for the performance of the Harrison concerto is Bienen percussion associate professor She-e Wu.  

Trio Valtorna 
Sunday, Jan.12 at 3 p.m. 

Bringing together three internationally recognized artists, Trio Valtorna was established in 2011 when violinist Ida Kavafian and hornist David Jolley decided to continue their Music from Angel Fire summer festival collaboration and invited pianist Gilles Vonsattel to join them. Their festival program features music by John Harbison, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. 

Vertavo String Quartet 
Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. 

Since its founding in 1984, the Vertavo String Quartet has been honored with Norway’s Grieg Prize, a Diapason d’Or and top prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. Their program features music by Elizabeth Maconchy, Maurice Ravel and Benjamin Britten. 

Viano Quartet 
Sunday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. 

In 2019, the Viano Quartet won first prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the grand prize at the ENKOR International Music Competition. Their program features music by Joseph Haydn, Krzysztof Penderecki, Aaron Jay Kernis and Ludwig van Beethoven. 

Dudok Quartet Amsterdam 
Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. 

Recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust award and the Netherlands’ Kersjes Prize, the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam’s program features music by Carlo Gesualdo, Joseph Haydn, Bushra El-Turk, Dmitri Shostakovich and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. 

Miró Quartet 
Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. 

Celebrating 30 years together in 2025, the Miró Quartet is a past winner of the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Naumburg International Chamber Music Competition. During its anniversary season, the quartet is launching new collaborations with saxophonist Steven Banks and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish. Their program features music by Joseph Haydn, George Walker, Caroline Shaw and Ludwig van Beethoven.