BIOGRAPHY 

J Freivogel, violin
Karen Kim, violin
Andrew Gonzalez, viola
Rachel Henderson Freivogel, cello

Celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in 2021, the Jasper String Quartet is recognized as one of the leading American string quartets on the performance stage today. Attuned to inquisitive and inspiring programming, the Quartet performs works by diverse chamber music voices on every concert. A recipient of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, the quartet has been hailed as “sonically delightful and expressively compelling,” (The Strad) and described by Gramophone as “flawless in ensemble and intonation, expressively assured and beautifully balanced.” The New York Times named their album Unbound as one of the 25 Best Classical Recordings of 2017.

Based in Philadelphia, the Jasper String Quartet is the Professional Quartet-in-Residence at Temple Music Prep's Center for Gifted Young Musicians program and Featured Artist-in-Residence at Swarthmore College for the 2020-22 academic years. In addition, the Quartet is the Founder and Artistic Director of Jasper Chamber Concerts.

Throughout the pandemic, the Quartet continued to record and present performances including works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Keiko Devaux, Antonin Dvorak, Vivian Fung, Josef Haydn, Florence Price, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and Paul Wiancko among others, reflecting the Quartet’s commitment to programming great works by diverse and underrepresented composers alongside traditional masterworks on every concert. 

In the 2021-22 season, the Jasper Quartet continues their sixth season as Artistic Directors of Jasper Chamber Concerts. Jasper Chamber Concerts is dedicated to encouraging curiosity, community, and inclusivity through world-class chamber music performances.

Recent commissions include works by Patrick Castillo and Reinaldo Moya, as well as 4 Seasons | 4 Composers, a work bringing the brilliant muse of the seasons to the string quartet genre and comprising new works by Lera Auerbach, Christopher Theofanidis, Akira Nishimura, and Joan Tower.

Formed at Oberlin Conservatory, the Jasper Quartet launched their professional career in 2006 as Rice University’s Graduate Quartet-in-Residence. In 2008, the Quartet continued its training with the Tokyo String Quartet as Yale University's Graduate Quartet-in-Residence. In 2008, they won the Grand Prize and the Audience Prize in the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, the Grand Prize at the Coleman Competition, First Prize at Chamber Music Yellow Springs, and the Silver Medal at the 2008 and 2009 Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions. 

The Jasper String Quartet is named after Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada.

For more information, please visit www.jasperquartet.com.