Verona Quartet — String Quartet

Jonathan Ong, Violin

Dorothy Ro, Violin

Abigail Rojansky, Viola

Jonathan Dormand, Cello

Acclaimed as an “outstanding ensemble…cohesive yet full of temperament” (The New York Times), the Verona Quartet has firmly established itself among the most distinguished ensembles on the chamber music scene today. Recognized for its “bold interpretive strength, robust characterization and commanding resonance” (Calgary Herald), the quartet was awarded Chamber Music America’s 2020 Cleveland Quartet Award. They currently serve as Quartet-in-Residence at the Oberlin College and Conservatory, and have held residencies at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle in North Carolina, and the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute. As passionate advocates for diverse programming, they also curated the UpClose Chamber Music Series for the COT, earning praise for their “sensational, powerhouse performance[s]” (Classical Voice America).

The quartet has performed across four continents in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Wigmore Hall, and Melbourne Recital Hall, and at festivals including La Jolla SummerFest, Chamber Music Northwest, Caramoor, Bravo! Vail, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Highlights of the 2023–24 season included debuts at the Clarion Concerts, Chicago Chamber Music Society, La Jolla Athenaeum, Hawaii Chamber Music Society, and Music Toronto, as well as returns to the Honolulu Chamber Music Series, Eureka Chamber Music Series, University of Southern California, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In summer 2024, the quartet made its debut at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

A quartet for the 21st century, Verona champions both the canon and contemporary works. They have commissioned and premiered pieces by Julia Adolphe, Texu Kim, Sebastian Currier, and Michael Gilbertson (Pulitzer Prize finalist), among others. Recent premieres include Cheng Jin Koh’s work for string quartet, yangqin, and dancer—commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution for the centennial of the Freer Gallery of Art.

Their discography includes SHATTER (2023), which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart and features collaborations with Reena Esmail and vocalist Saili Oak, alongside works written for the quartet by Adolphe and Gilbertson. Their debut album, Diffusion, was praised by BBC Music Magazine for its “radiant glow,” and their recording of Ligeti’s complete quartets was released on Dynamic Records in 2023 in celebration of the composer’s centennial.

The Verona Quartet embraces innovative cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaborations, with past and upcoming projects including performances with Wu Man, Steven Banks, Alexander Fiterstein, Eric Lu, folk trio I’m With Her, and Dance Heginbotham. Their projects often blend music with dance, visual arts, poetry, and global traditions, reflecting their dynamic and imaginative vision.

Winners of top prizes at the Wigmore Hall, Melbourne, M-Prize, and Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions, as well as the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the quartet continues in the lineage of its mentors—the Cleveland, Juilliard, and Pacifica Quartets.

Dedicated to storytelling through music, the Verona Quartet takes its name from William Shakespeare’s Verona, honoring one of history’s greatest storytellers.