Artist Residency Concert: Abeo String Quartet

Now in its second season, Marlboro Music’s brings exceptional emerging chamber music ensembles to the Marlboro campus throughout the year for deep creative work and concert offerings. Each group is in residence for 1 to 3 weeks, enjoying concentrated time together in a retreat-like environment where they can rehearse new programming, prepare for recording projects, develop community engagement programming, and more. Every ensemble in residence includes at least one Marlboro Music artist, and each residency culminates with a free informal concert, in which the groups share the results of their work with our local community.

Our fourth 2025-26 residency concert features the Abeo String Quartet, consisting of current Marlboro cellist Macintyre Taback, violinists Njioma Grievous and Rebecca Benjamin, and violist James Kang. Their performance takes place on Friday, April 17 at 7 pm in Ragle Hall, in the Serkin Center for the Arts (2582 South Rd, Marlboro, VT). Admission is free. Reservations are required and open approximately four weeks prior to the event.

Program to be announced

The Abeo Quartet, formed at Juilliard in 2018, was the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Delaware under the mentorship of the Calidore String Quartet from 2021-2023. Abeo's recent accomplishments include Third Prize at the 2023 Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition, making the semi-finals at the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition and being among ten quartets invited to participate in the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022. The quartet was also a First Prize and Audience Favorite Prize winner in the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition for Emerging Professional Ensembles and Silver Medal winner of the Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition, both in 2022. Additionally, Abeo was a finalist in the 2021 Young Concert Artists International Competition and the silver medal winner of the 2019 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

The members of the quartet are violinists Njioma Grevious and Rebecca Benjamin, violist James Kang and cellist Macintyre Taback.

Abeo has performed at the Perlman Music Program Suncoast, La Jolla Chamber Music Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Princeton Festival, Emerald City Music in Seattle, and Sunday@Central in Columbus, Ohio, among others. The quartet was the 2024 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, an exciting yearlong residency. Other performances have included Caroga Lake Chamber Music Collective, Every Blue Moon Concert Series in Inverness, CA, and the Carnegie Hill Concerts inaugural Sunset Series in New York City.

During Abeo's earliest years, highlights include performances at Alice Tully Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s masterclass series with the Danish String Quartet, and on WQXR’s Midday Masterpieces. Abeo was invited to perform in Norway’s 2019 Vertavo Festival, performing seven Haydn string quartets and was in residence at the Glenstone Museum, debuting "Moonshot" by Alistair Coleman. The quartet has studied and performed at Music@Menlo, with the Emerson Quartet at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and with the Brentano String Quartet at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. At the Montreal International String Quartet Academy, Abeo was coached by members of Quatuor Ébéne, Alban Berg, Takács, Artemis, Cecilia and Meta4 String Quartets. During their time at Juilliard, Abeo studied regularly in the Honors Chamber Music Program under the tutelage of The Juilliard String Quartet with Joseph Lin, Astrid Schween and Roger Tapping. The quartet chose the name Abeo / ah - bey - oh / — an expression of joy in a Nigerian dialect — to reflect their love for playing chamber music and sharing it with others.

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