Nov. 7: Telegraph Quartet Performs at The Loft at Algoma Conservatory
Photo of the Telegraph Quartet by Lisa Marie Mazzucco available in high resolution here.
Telegraph Quartet Performs
at The Loft at Algoma Conservatory on November 7
“precise tuning, textural variety and impassioned communication” – The Strad
Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 7:30pm
The Loft at Algoma Conservatory
75 Huron St. | Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Tickets and More Information
Ann Arbor, MI – On Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 7:30pm, the Telegraph Quartet – a group described by The San Francisco Chronicle as being “an incredibly valuable addition to the cultural landscape” – will perform at The Loft at Algoma Conservatory (75 Huron St.). The concert program will feature Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 76, No. 2 “Quinten,” as well as two works influenced by film or staged works – Dimitri Shostakovich’s Elegy and Polka, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 34.
The Telegraph (Eric Chin and Joseph Maile, violins; Pei-Ling Lin, viola; Jeremiah Shaw, cello) formed in 2013 with an equal passion for standard and contemporary chamber music repertoire; they rose quickly, winning the prestigious 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Today, they perform across the United States and abroad, at venues including New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Town Hall; San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre; the Philharmonie de Paris; and at festivals including the Chautauqua Institute, Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley, and the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy.
Haydn’s Quartet Op. 76, No. 2 “Quinten” bucked the composer’s trend of composing grand, bright, vibrant music, and is instead written almost entirely in d minor, which is often described as the saddest and most melancholy of all keys. The piece is nicknamed “Quinten,” meaning fifths, because of Haydn’s frequent use of this foundational interval between notes. Composed when he was in his 60s, after a lifetime of writing some of the most sophisticated, expressive, and innovative works of his time, this quartet showcases Haydn’s ability to create impressive work even with the most basic elements. Shostakovich wrote Elegy and its companion piece Polka in a single night in 1931. Elegy is the transcription of a haunting aria from his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, while Polka is a version of a comical dance from his soccer-inspired ballet The Golden Age. These short pieces were lost for many years and not rediscovered until the 1980s, when they were made available by the USSR State Copyright Agency. Korngold’s String Quartet No. 3 was his last chamber music work, completed in 1945. Korngold was one of the most influential composers in Hollywood, and in his third string quartet he quoted from his scores for films, including Between Two Worlds (1944), The Sea Wolf (1941), and Devotion (1943).
The Telegraph Quartet released its celebrated debut album Into the Light in 2018 and is currently recording an extensive three-album series titled 20th Century Vantage Points for Azica Records, exploring string quartets of the 20th century. The first volume, Divergent Paths (2022), features two works that (to the best of the Telegraph Quartet’s knowledge) have never been recorded on the same album before: Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major and Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 7. In August 2025, the Telegraph released the second volume, Edge of the Storm, which examines the turbulent years of war and its aftermath from 1941-1951 through string quartets by Grażyna Bacewicz, Benjamin Britten, and Mieczysław Weinberg. Volume three will be released in fall 2027. In addition, the Telegraph released a recording of the string quartets of Robert Sirota in summer 2026 (Azica Records) and will release a recording of Kenji Bunch string quartets in spring 2027 (Phenotypic Records).
Beyond the concert stage, the Telegraph Quartet seeks to spread its music through education and audience engagement. The Telegraph has given master classes, served as artists-in-residence, and launched ChamberFEAST!, a chamber music workshop in Taiwan. In fall 2020, the Telegraph launched an online video project called TeleLab, in which the ensemble collectively breaks down the components of a movement from various works for quartet. In the summers of 2022 and 2024, the Telegraph Quartet traveled to Vienna to work with Schoenberg expert Henk Guittart in conjunction with the Arnold Schoenberg Center, researching all of Schoenberg's string quartets.
For more information, visit www.telegraphquartet.com.
Concert details:
Who: Telegraph Quartet
Presented by Algoma Conservatory
What: Music by Franz Joseph Haydn, Dimitri Shostakovich, and Erich Korngold
When: Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 7:30pm
Where:The Loft at Algoma Conservatory, 75 Huron St., Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 5P4, Canada
More information: https://algomaconservatory.com/the-store/p/telegraph-string-quartet-saturday-november-7-2026-730-pm-the-loft
Description: The Telegraph Quartet, a group The Strad describes as having “precise tuning, textural variety and impassioned communication,” performs at The Loft at Algoma Conservatory. The award-winning ensemble will perform Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 76, No. 2 “Quinten,” Dimitri Shostakovich’s Elegy and Polka; and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 34.