The Verona Quartet

The Verona Quartet is among the foremost U.S. chamber ensembles of its generation, notable for combining an international touring schedule with residencies at some of the country's top educational institutions. The group has a broad repertory ranging from traditional string quartets of the 18th century to contemporary works, and it often engages in collaborations outside the usual sphere of classical music. The Verona Quartet was formed in 2013 when its four members were students at Indiana University's music school. Those members -- violinists Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violist Abigail Rojansky, and cellist Jonathan Dormand -- had diverse international origins in the U.S., Canada, and Singapore. At first, the group was called the Wasmuth Quartet, but the name was changed to the easier-to-remember Verona Quartet, which was also intended as a tribute to William Shakespeare. The quartet was tutored at first by the Pacifica Quartet, Indiana's faculty ensemble, and later benefited from the mentorship of the Cleveland Quartet and the Juilliard String Quartet. The Verona Quartet performed well on the contest circuit, with top prizes at the 2015 Concert Artists Guild Competition and the Wigmore Hall International Chamber Music Competition, among others, and in 2020, the group took home Chamber Music America's Cleveland Quartet Award. The following year, the quartet released its debut album, Diffusion, on the Azica label; it featured music by Janáček, Szymanowski, and Ravel. The Verona Quartet has appeared at such venues as Wigmore Hall in London, the Melbourne Recital Hall in Australia, and many major halls in the U.S. Northeast. It has a long record of appearances at festivals, including La Jolla Summerfest in California, Bravo! Vail in Colorado and Caramoor in upstate New York, where it served one of its many residencies; others have included those at the Juilliard School and, most recently, the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. In addition to playing standard repertory, the Verona Quartet has commissioned new music from Julia Adolphe, Sebastian Currier, and Michael Gilbertson (the Pulitzer Prize-nominated work entitled Quartet), among others. The quartet has embarked on cross-genre collaborations, including a live-performance installation with visual artist Ana Prvački, exchanged with traditional poets from the United Arab Emirates, and a project with the folk trio I'm With Her. A sophomore release, SHATTER, appeared in 2023 and featured works by Adolphe, Gilbertson, and Reena Esmail, as well as an appearance by singer Saili Oak. The Verona Quartet returned in 2023 on the Dynamic label with a recording of the complete string quartets of György Ligeti.
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