The Chen String Quartet was founded in 2014 and is composed of violinists Robert and Laura Park Chen, violist Beatrice Chen, and cellist Noah Chen. They were most active during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic, having performed over 100 concerts across virtual platforms. They have appeared on WFMT, From the Top’s virtual concert series, and on Classical Music Chicago’s Rush Hour Concert Series. The Chen Quartet is also a frequent guest at Bargemusic in Brooklyn, NY.

In Spring 2021, the Chen Quartet presented a Beethoven Op. 18 cycle presented by the Music Institute of Chicago and WFMT, and gave the world premiere of the String Quartet No. 2 by Elizabeth Younan. Most recently, they performed the world premiere of Marta Ptaszynska’s Crystallites’ Polyphony at the Polish Consulate in Chicago with percussionist Josh Graham. 

Robert Chen is Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1999. Laura Park Chen is a former member of the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago and former Assistant Concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Beatrice Chen is a member of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. Noah Chen is pursuing a Master of Music at the Juilliard School with Dr. Minhye Clara Kim.

Praised as “beguiling” (Chicago Tribune) and a “superb performer” (Chicago Classical Review), percussionist Dr. Joshua (Josh) Graham has had the pleasure of performing throughout the United States and Canada. He is excited to begin as Percussion Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this fall. In addition, he serves as Executive Director and percussionist for the trio F-PLUS, Principal Percussionist of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, and regularly collaborates with the Chen String Quartet.

Primarily active in the creation of new works for percussion in both solo and chamber music contexts, Dr. Graham has commissioned and premiered chamber works by Jessie Montgomery, Chen Yi, Donnacha Dennehy, George Tsontakis, Marta Ptaszynska, Charles Peck, Gemma Peacocke and Emma O’Halloran, among many others. He made his concerto debut in 2014 at the Aspen Music Festival with Steve Mackey’s “Micro-Concerto,”  and his current project “Music and Literature” pairs new solo marimba works based on poetry and prose, premiered at the author’s homes. These recent works include pieces by Tina Davidson, Mike Conrad, and Griffin Candey based on the writings of Robert Frost, James Hearst, and Ernest Hemingway, respectively. In funding various commissions and projects, Dr. Graham and his ensembles have received grants from the Fromm Foundation, the Koussevitzky Foundation, New Music USA, Chamber Music America, the Barlow Endowment, the American Music Project, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Irish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of New Zealand, with many of the applications written by Dr. Graham.