Diderot String Quartet – named after the prominent eighteenth-century French philosopher and Boccherini enthusiast Denis Diderot – came together in 2012 in New York City. Having first met at Oberlin Conservatory and The Juilliard School, all four musicians shared a background in historical performance and a passion for the string quartet genre; and they quickly found the thrill of exploring the latter repertoire on period instruments to be irresistible. Featured in the Chamber Music America article “New Voices in Old Music”, Diderot String Quartet brings a fresh approach to both familiar and lesser-known works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
In its 2016/17 season, DSQ appeared on the following concert series: Music Before 1800 (NYC), Renaissance & Baroque (Pittsburgh), St. Cecilia Music Series (Austin, TX) and Early Music at St. James (Lancaster, PA). The quartet also enters a third year as a resident ensemble at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (NYC) and a second year as Quartet in Residence at the Washington National Cathedral. Diderot String Quartet was awarded a two-week residency at Aldeburgh Music in the U.K. Other recent events include the premiere of DSQ’s first-ever commissioned work (Small Infinities by award-winning composer Lembit Beecher) and performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cambridge Society of Early Music and Kerrytown Concert House (Ann Arbor, MI).