The Isidore String Quartet Signs with David Rowe Artists

The New York-based quartet recently won the 2022 Banff International String Competition and will join David Rowe Artists for general management

(Photo credit: Charles Chesseler)

Founded in 2019, the Isidore String Quartet (ISQ) has joined the roster at David Rowe Artists for general management and all bookings in USA and Canada.  

The ISQ comprises violinists Adrian Steele and Phoenix Avalon, violist Devin Moore, and cellist Joshua McClendon, who are current students at New York’s Juilliard School, and took home first-prize at Canada’s 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) earlier this month.

David Rowe had attended this year’s Banff Competition “simply to decompress” after completing the first in-person booking conference in three years. Upon hearing ISQ perform, the agency was compelled to sign them, and the quartet became its first North American string quartet signing since over 20 years ago. 

“The Banff win will help introduce the world to this superb ensemble, who already perform at an astonishingly high level,” Rowe stated. “We are confident they will quickly emerge as the premier chamber music ensemble of their generation, with a mission to reinvigorate the established canon while bringing forward compelling new and overlooked voices.”

The win at the Banff competition will see ISQ tour North America and Europe, experience a two-year appointment as Ensemble-in-Residance at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, perform at Haydn Hall in Eisenstadt and the Lucerne Festival, plus have a two-week residency at Banff Centre including coaching, career guidance, and a professional recording opportunity. 

You can watch the Banff Competition on The Violin Channel, here.

For the upcoming season, ISQ will perform at the Kennedy Center and also give their New York City debut at the Mannes School of Music. Additionally, they will work on “PROJECT: MUSIC HEALS US,” an initiative providing education and healing to marginalized communities who may have limited access to live music performances. 

“This is a quartet that has a strong personal voice and vision,” commented Banff competition director, Barry Shiffman on ISQ’s performance. “They are passionate musicians that approach their work as artists in society with a mature seriousness and purpose.”

“[We are] honored and humbled to join the incredible roster of David Rowe Artists!” said the Isidore String Quartet. “We have the utmost respect and admiration for David, Arielle, and all of the artists on their roster and we are tremendously excited for the future as we embark on this new chapter in our career.”

Based in Massachusetts, David Rowe Artists was founded in 1998 and represents internationally-acclaimed chamber music ensembles. Their roster includes groups such as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, Brentano Quartet, Castalian Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Elias Quartet, David Finckel and Wu Han, among others.

Highlights from ISQ's performances at the 2022 BISQC can be viewed below.