About
Victoria Moreira, violin
Naomi Culp, violin
Sixto Franco Chordá, viola
Veronica Nettles, cello
“Kaia,” deriving from Greek,
Gaia for Earth/Goddess of the
Earth, represents the ensemble’s mission to promote music of
cultures from around the world in addition to being active
performers of the traditional canon of quartet music.
In May 2013, the ensemble will be presented
by, Mi Festival to give educational and formal concerts in
the Tijuana region of Mexico.
With their current focus on
exploring the music of Latin American composers, both contemporary
and traditional, the Chicago-based string quartet was named the
Ensemble in Residence of
the Latin Music Festival of Chicago. The quartet has been featured
in the LMF since 2010 and opened the festivities in 2011 giving the
world premiere of Elbio Barilari’s quartet,
Antique Store.
In
2011, their involvement in the Latin American community expanded to
include collaborations with Chicago’s
Tangata ensemble
performing at Old Town School of Folk Music and Chicago Summer Dance
Festival, as well as an invitation to be featured at the
Latin
American Music
Center conference at
Indiana University.
Kaia
String Quartet has made several appearances of WFMT radio including
features on Impromptu in
collaboration with Gustavo Leone and Michael Ward-Bergeman as well
as live broadcasts from the
Cultural
Center of the Arts.
In 2011, live broadcasts included Astor Piazzolla’s
Maria de Buenos Aires,
where the quartet performed side-by-side with prominent tango
artists including Grammy-winner Raul Juarena.
In addition to collaborating with
prominent South American composers, Kaia has also recorded for
Grammy-nominee, Victor Pichardo with his ensemble, Sones de Mexico
on their latest album, Viva La Revolucion!
In the classical realm, the quartet has given
recitals through the St. John Cantius Parish Chamber Music Series,
University
of Illinois Music at One
Series as well as through
DePaul
University.
Kaia is currently completing a
two-year residency at Northern
Illinois University
under the tutelage of the Avalon String Quartet.
The quartet is available for both educational and
community outreach presentations and performances in addition to
recital engagements.