The Bayberry String Quartet, known for its dynamic performances and fresh interpretations, celebrates the power of chamber music to unite, inspire, and delight audiences. Now in its eighth season, BSQ continues to captivate listeners in prestigious concert halls across the country, including Carnegie Hall, the Chautauqua Institution, and Lincoln Center.
Beyond the stage, the quartet expands its artistic reach through innovative online collaborations—most notably its genre-blending rendition of Edgar Winter Group’s Frankenstein—and through the Bayberry String Quartet Listening Guide, a distinctive educational resource created to enrich listeners’ appreciation of the string quartet tradition.
Nurit Pacht
Violin
Violinist Nurit Pacht is an acclaimed artist and prizewinner at major international competitions, including the Irving Klein International Music Competition in California and the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland. Her career has placed her center stage at significant world events, among them the European Conference inaugurating the Euro in Brussels. Under the auspices of the European Commission and the United Nations, she toured the former Yugoslavia during the 1996 cease-fire.
In 2015, she performed for Pope Francis during his visit to New York and later embarked on a U.S. State Department–funded recital tour of Ukraine. Pacht has collaborated with visionary artists such as stage director Robert Wilson and choreographer Bill T. Jones, and she has worked closely with many of today’s leading composers.
She has toured internationally as a soloist with orchestras including the Houston Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Israel Chamber Orchestra. Israeli composer Noam Sheriff dedicated his violin concerto Dibrot to her, which she performed in several of Israel’s most prestigious venues.
Also an accomplished baroque violinist, Pacht holds a master’s degree from Juilliard’s Historical Performance program. Her recordings appear on Nimbus Records and Toccata Classics.
Steffani Kitayama
Violin
Violinist Steffani Kitayama is a dynamic performer, educator, and dancer, currently dividing her time between the concert stage, the teaching studio, and performing with a small ballet company in Michigan. She holds performance degrees from the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University, studying under Won Bin Yim and Blair Milton.
During her recent years in Washington, D.C., she performed with the Grammy-nominated Inscape Chamber Orchestra, the New Orchestra of Washington, and in chamber music collaborations across the United States. A devoted chamber musician, she has worked closely with distinguished artists including Mathias Tacke of the Vermeer Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma, Simon Fischer, Peter Salaff, and members of the Cavani Quartet, Lincoln Trio, and Artemis Quartet.
Kitayama’s teaching experience spans a wide range of settings—from public-school outreach programs and group classes to individualized private instruction. She currently maintains a thriving private studio with her husband, violinist Gabe Bolkosky, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is a sought-after teacher at institutes throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Gabe Bolkosky
Viola
Violist Gabe Bolkosky has built an inspiring career as both performer and educator, sharing his artistry across the United States and internationally. Though known primarily as a violinist, Gabe brings remarkable versatility to the stage, performing classical and contemporary works alongside collaborators from a wide range of musical traditions.
He has released seven CDs that highlight the breadth of his musicianship, spanning contemporary music, jazz, tango, and traditional classical repertoire. Over two decades of teaching and performing, Gabe spent six years as a Guest Artist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he taught violin and chamber music. He also served as Executive Director of The Phoenix Ensemble, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting artists and educational institutions.
Gabe is the founder and director of PhoenixPhest! Grande, two inclusive chamber music festivals held each May and August, are designed to welcome musicians of all ages and levels into a supportive and vibrant community.
Most recently, he founded Musicians Take a Stand, an organization that empowers musicians to present concerts for humanitarian causes and use social media to amplify support and fundraising efforts.
Laura Usiskin
Cello
Cellist Laura Usiskin has shared her artistry across North America and Europe, performing in such renowned venues as the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Palazzo Chigi Saracini in Italy, Weill Recital Hall, and BargeMusic. Equally passionate about early music and contemporary creation, she has performed as a Baroque cellist and has premiered or commissioned dozens of new works throughout her career.
In 2011, Laura founded the Montgomery Music Project, an El Sistema–inspired program providing intensive string instruction to hundreds of low-income students across three counties in Montgomery, Alabama. She has held orchestral positions with the New Haven Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and Orchestra Iowa.
In addition to being a member of the Bayberry String Quartet, Laura is a core performer with Atlanta’s acclaimed new-music ensemble vim. She has served on the faculties of the University of Alabama at Birmingham—where she founded the concert series Chamber Music @ AEIVA—and Birmingham-Southern College.
Laura graduated cum laude from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and Behavior, earned her Master of Music from The Juilliard School, and completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at the Yale School of Music, where she was awarded the prestigious Aldo Parisot Prize.
Photo credit: https://bayberrystringquartet.com/