For more than 50 years, Northern Illinois University has been home to a world-class string quartet in residence. Beginning in 1970, the internationally renowned Vermeer Quartet came to NIU. The members joined the faculty, continued to perform around the world and served as mentors to visiting graduate student string quartets.
When the members of the Vermeer Quartet announced their retirement as a group in 2007, the future of the string quartet in residence program was secured by a generous gift by Richard O. Ryan. As a testament to the quality of the work of the Vermeer, a nationwide search resulted in the selection of the Avalon String Quartet to succeed them, who the Vermeer had mentored at NIU a decade earlier.
Now, the NIU School of Music has launched a new graduate string quartet program, aimed at renewing the tradition. The first four students come to NIU from across the globe. Javier Santiago Polania Cleves is a violinist from Colombia, Sofia Vrettou is a cellist from Greece, and violinist Sally Waterhouse and violist Jacob Seabrook are both from Australia.
They perform together as the Dáikiti String Quartet, play key roles in large ensembles like the NIU Philharmonic Orchestra and receive instruction and mentorship from the Avalon String Quartet, and receive individual instruction from their counterpart in the Avalon.
NIU School of Music Graduate String Quartet (l to r) Sofia Vrettou, cello; Jacob Seabrook, viola; Javier Santiago Polania Cleves, violin; Sally Waterhouse, violin
“The Avalon are really spectacular people,” said Andrew Glendening, director of the NIU School of Music. “They are fabulous colleagues, who play well, are confident and they share their skills without constraints to the students. Each of them is a world-class player, and you put them together and the chemistry builds into something that even better.”
Glendening said it used to be common for schools to have a chamber ensemble in residence, but as times changed and budgets shrunk only the largest, most prestigious and well-endowed universities have been able to continue the practice. “For a school like NIU, at our size and with our mission, to be able to embed it into our program is something special. The Avalon members are in the classroom, the students know them, they are really a part of the fabric here. It is one of the things that separates us from a lot of schools.”
“If we can keep this program going, we will have this solid core of really outstanding musicians to serve as a foundation for everything we are doing,” Glendening said. “It is vitally important for everything that has string instruments as part of it. The NIU Philharmonic, our Opera Theatre program, the New Music Festival, our recording arts program and more, will have these excellent string players to serve as a model for younger players, and allow us to play more complicated and advanced repertoire.”
Anthony Devroye, violist for the Avalon and professor of music said he’s impressed by the fearlessness displayed by four people who came to NIU from around the world to form the first graduate string quartet. “It took an extreme leap of faith for all of them to come here together and say, ‘I don’t know most of these people but I recognize the value of string quartet study, the value of chamber music study, I recognize the quality of the school, so let’s see what happens.’ They threw in together and organized their whole lives around making this brand-new venture their top priority. That takes a lot of boldness, faith and initiative. They have really stepped up to the opportunity to make the most of it.”
Waterhouse says she appreciates how the dynamic of playing in a chamber ensemble opens new ways of thinking about a piece that differ from playing it solo or with a large orchestra.
“When you’re playing with a group someone might play something a little differently and you can respond to that. There is a different sort of input that’s really interesting and so many things that can be variable or spontaneous. It’s lots of fun.”
Avalon String Quartet
Blaise Magnière, Richard O. Ryan Endowed Chair in Violin
Marie Wang, violin
Anthony Devroye, viola
Cheng-Hou Lee, cello
Dáikiti String Quartet
NIU Graduate Student String Quartet
Javier Santiago Polania Cleves, violin
Sally Waterhouse, violin
Jacob Seabrook, viola
Sofia Vrettou, cello
Top photo: Avalon String Quartet and Graduate String Quartet perform together at the NIU Foundation’s Celebration of Generosity, November, 2024