Sept 12: Newport Classical Opens 2025-2026 Chamber Series with Poiesis Quartet
Poiesis Quartet by Eden Davis. Photo available in high resolution here
Newport Classical Opens 2025-2026 Chamber Series with Poiesis Quartet
Friday, September 12 at 7:30pm
Information & Registration: www.newportclassical.org
Newport, RI – Newport Classical opens its fifth full-season Chamber Series, which features twelve concerts held on select Fridays between September 2025 and June 2026 at the organization’s home venue, the Newport Classical Recital Hall (42 Dearborn St.), with the Poiesis Quartet on Friday, September 12, 2025 at 7:30pm.
The Poiesis Quartet (Sarah Ma, violin; Max Ball, violin; Jasper de Boor, viola; and Drew Dansby, cello) is an ensemble on the rise, with several national competition wins recently under their belts. The group is the winner of the Grand Prize, Gold Medal, and Lift Every Voice prize at the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as the Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. Poiesis joined the Concert Artists Guild roster for North American management as winners of the Louis & Susan Meisel Competition in 2024. The quartet is touring nationally, and has performed abroad in Uruguay (2023), Italy at the 2024 Emilia Romagna Festival, and France at 2025 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Poiesis released its debut album as we are on the Bright Shiny Things label in 2024.
Derived from ancient Greek, the word Poiesis means “to make”; specifically, to create something that has not existed before. With an emphasis on expanding the string quartet repertoire with vibrant new works by emerging composers, the Poiesis Quartet infuses each performance with unique moments of synchronicity and verve. The quartet’s concert in Newport will begin with Beethoven’s radiant Op. 59 No. 3, an energetic and expressive work that sets the tone for an evening of dynamic contrasts. The program also features bold contemporary works including Kevin Lau's String Quartet No. 7, commissioned by the ensemble, alongside recent works by Brian Raphael Nabors and Sky Macklay. The concert ends with Calvary, a powerful arrangement of an African American spiritual, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s String Quartet No. 1, which draws inspiration from the same melody in a work that fuses classical form with spiritual roots.
Sarah Ma, violinist of the Poiesis Quartet, says, “We always prioritize creating emotionally compelling and fulfilling concert experiences. At its core, our program at Newport features our very first commissioned work – String Quartet No. 7 by Chinese-Canadian composer Kevin Lau. After Kevin's newborn baby son was diagnosed with a rare liver condition requiring surgeries and a rigorous recovery process, he wrote this work during this time as a 'surfacing' from grief and pain. Today, his family is healthy and happy, and his quartet ends with virtuosity, defiance, and joy, reminding us of gratitude for family. Especially paired with the Calvary spiritual, which speaks on Jesus' death and ascension to heaven, each work on this program in some way reflects on the necessity to persist towards and protect love. We always seek to foster an intellectual curiosity with our programs, encouraging audiences to seek out new musical forms that are robust, dense, and creative, and we also want that inspiration and passion to be rooted in a deeply meaningful and personal emotional conviction.”
Newport Classical's Chamber Series takes place at Newport Classical Recital Hall in downtown Newport, known for its striking architecture and excellent acoustics. Audiences are invited to enjoy performances by world-class classical musicians in a relaxed setting, with complimentary wine generously provided by Gold's Wine and Spirits served during intermission. Both performers and audience members alike have described these concerts as some of their favorites. “Beautiful concert, high artistry and exciting programming . . . a deeply moving and soulful experience, with a rousing and brilliant virtuosity that kept you on the edge of your seat,” raved one attendee.
As part of Newport Classical's desire to create connections between classical music, the artists who perform it, and the Newport community, all musicians performing on the Chamber Series will also visit a local school or organization to present their talents and meaningfully engage with students and community members of all ages through Newport Classical's Music Enrichment and Engagement Initiative. The Poiesis Quartet will visit the Edward King House during the day to perform selections from their concert program later that evening and share stories about their musical journeys, inspirations, and more, inviting questions and conversation with attendees.
Watch Poiesis Quartet in Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s String Quartet No. 1:
Up next, Newport Classical presents three free Community Concerts this summer and fall, designed especially for families and taking place right in their neighborhoods. The GRAMMY® Award-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet performs an interactive children’s concert on August 23 at the Newport County YMCA. The Navy Band Northeast’s Crosswinds Woodwind Quintet takes the stage on September 7 at Miantonomi Memorial Park, and classical guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan presents his New Lullaby Project (comfy PJs and stuffed animals welcome) on October 12 at Emmanuel Church.
On October 3, the Chamber Series continues with celebrated violinist Blake Pouliot, praised for his "radiant sound and high-powered virtuosity" (Los Angeles Times), performing with acclaimed pianist Henry Kramer in a Romantic program featuring Schumann's stormy Violin Sonata No. 1, Chausson's sweeping Poème, and Dvořák’s spirited Ziguenerleider. Trio Zimbalist makes their Newport Classical debut on October 17 with what EfSyn calls "precision and feverish intensity," presenting Beethoven's beloved "Archduke" Trio alongside works by Smetana and George Xiaoyuan Fu. Taiwanese American pianist Charlotte Hu, celebrated as a "first-class talent" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) with "superstar quality" (Jerusalem Post), embarks on a compelling journey through Chopin's expressive world on November 7. Saxophonist Valentin Kovalev, Gold Medal winner at the Jean-Marie Londeix International Saxophone Competition, brings his electrifying technique and soulful depth to his Newport Classical debut on November 21 with a program culminating in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
The Chamber Series continues in 2026 with cellist Jonathan Swensen making his highly anticipated return on January 23 following his memorable 2024 debut as a Festival Artist. Honored with the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and joint First Prize at the 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition, Swensen is described as "a musician of charisma and thrilling physicality" (BBC Music Magazine). The Verona Quartet, celebrated by The New York Times as an "outstanding ensemble... cohesive yet full of temperament," makes their Newport Classical debut on February 20 with a program tracing a vivid stylistic arc from Scarlatti to Beethoven. On March 13, baritone Benjamin Appl, whose voice “belongs to the last of the old great masters of song” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), whose artistry has been described as “unbearably moving” (The Times), presents Schubert's hauntingly beautiful Die Winterreise with his frequent collaborator, pianist James Baillieu. Ars Poetica, an ensemble of acclaimed instrumentalists and vocalists with a passion for historical music, explores "Dance and Transfiguration" on March 27 with their colorful array of Baroque instruments. Violinist Yevgeny Kutik, praised for his "dark-hued and razor-sharp technique" (The New York Times), makes his Newport Classical debut on April 10 alongside returning pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner in works by Debussy, Prokofiev, and Grieg. Rising-star pianist James Zijian Wei, first-prize winner at the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition, makes his highly anticipated Newport debut on May 8 with a program featuring Ravel, Liszt, and more. The Chamber Series concludes on June 5 with flutist Amir Hoshang Farsi and pianist Chelsea Wang, both Carnegie Hall Ensemble Connect alumni, presenting a program of sparkling impressionism featuring works by Fauré, Lili Boulanger, and contemporary composers Reena Esmail, Ian Clarke, and Yuko Uebayashi.
The 2026 Newport Classical Music Festival will take place from July 2-19, 2026.
About Newport Classical
Newport Classical is a premier performing arts organization that welcomes people of every age, culture, and background to intimate, immersive musical experiences. The organization presents world-renowned and up-and-coming artistic talents at stunning, storied venues across Newport – an internationally sought-after cultural and recreational destination.
Originally founded in 1969 as Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport, Inc., Newport Classical has a rich legacy of musical curiosity having presented the American debuts of hundreds of international artists and is most well-known for hosting three weeks of concerts in the summer in the historic mansions throughout Newport and Aquidneck Island. In the 56 years since, Newport Classical has become the most active year-round presenter of live performing arts on Aquidneck Island, and an essential pillar of Rhode Island’s cultural landscape, welcoming thousands of patrons all year long.
Newport Classical invests in the future of classical music as a diverse, relevant, and ever-evolving art form through its four core programs – the one-of-a-kind Music Festival; the Chamber Series in the Newport Classical Recital Hall; the free, family-friendly Community Concerts Series; and the Music Education and Engagement Initiative that inspires students in local schools to become the arts advocates and music lovers of tomorrow. These programs illustrate the organization’s ongoing commitment to presenting “timeless music for today.”
In 2021, the organization launched a new commissioning initiative – each year, Newport Classical will commission a new work by a Black, Indigenous, person of color, or woman composer as a commitment to the future of classical music. To date, Newport Classical has commissioned and presented the world premiere of works by Stacy Garrop, Shawn Okpebholo, Curtis Stewart, Clarice Assad, and Cris Derksen.