press
Cleveland Classical: Poiesis Quartet lift up their peers with … “Love Letters”
March 25, 2026 by Stephanie Manning
"While the Poiesis enjoy pushing the boundaries of expectation, the result lands far from chaos. In projects like “Love Letters,” their trust and love for their peers create spaces to celebrate queerness, identity, and how young musicians and composers engage with classical music in a 21st-century world."
New York Times: Best Classical Performances of 2025
December 9, 2025 by By Joshua Barone and Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
"I heard this vibrant young ensemble mid liftoff... its concert included two brilliantly idiomatic quartets by Kevin Lau and a burnished, deeply felt account of [Perkinson’s Quartet No. 1,] prefaced by the group’s four-violin arrangement of the spiritual that inspired it — a casual, telling glimpse of these players’ multifaceted artistry."
In the Practice Room: Poiesis Quartet’s Oberlin Commission Project
September 19, 2025 by Calvin Ray Shawler
"[Poiesis Quartet] has two major concerts scheduled at Oberlin this year, the latter of which features premieres by five queer BIPOC Oberlin composers, who were commissioned to create ten-minute pieces for the ensemble this past year through the Oberlin Commission Project. Two of the featured composers, Max Lang and Zola Saadi-Klein, discussed their process."
San Francisco Classical Voice: At BISQC, New Music Wins The Day
September 9, 2025 by Rebecca Wishnia
"The Poiesis players’ final performance, at any rate, was magnetic. These musicians have palpable chemistry and a remarkable warmth." [Read more]
Classical Voice North America: Poiesis Quartet Wins Competition, But Just Getting There Is A Win
September 4, 2025 by Keith Powers
"For the Poiesis Quartet, this competition was not only a test of mettle, it was a forum for identity. ... Poiesis stole the finals with royally inclusive and distinctive choices: quartets by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Brian Raphael Nabors, Joe Hisaishi, and Kevin Lau." [Read more]
Cleveland Classical: Recording Review - Poiesis Quartet fearlessly forges something new
October 10, 2024 by Stephanie Manning
"Creating something new can come with a lot of expectations. Founding an ensemble. Releasing a debut album. Recording a world premiere, or two. But whatever you might expect from the Poiesis Quartet, they want you to take them exactly as they are." [Read more]
La Scena Musicale: BISQC makes strong statement with Poiesis
September 2, 2025 by Bill Rankin
"The fifteenth Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC) jury made what many would say was a bold decision to award first prize to an American quartet that eschews the trappings of a traditional string quartet and champions both new music and their own LGBTQ identities, unreservedly." [Read more]
BBC Music Magazine: Poiesis Quartet storm to Banff glory
September 1, 2025 by Jeremy Pound
"Poiesis created waves of excitement in Banff with performances that included a scintillating Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major in the competition’s Romantic repertoire round." [Read more]
Cleveland Classical: Poiesis Quartet's youthful energy abounds
July 18, 2024 by Peter Feher
"But what really distinguishes the group is its collective sound, which is remarkable and, one might almost say, old-fashioned — rich from top to bottom in a wonderfully uncompromising way." [Read more]
Emery Kerekes: February 2024 Chamber Music of America Conference
Feb 01, 2024 by Emery Kerekes
"The Poiesis squad are an unabashedly young, unabashedly passionate, and most comfortingly, unabashedly queer future for a straight-edged quartet world." [Read more]
The Strad: Poiesis Quartet wins 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition
May 17, 2023 by The Strad News
The Poiesis Quartet from Oberlin, OH, US, has received the grand prize medal at the 50th Annual Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the largest chamber music competition in America with 56 ensembles taking part. [Read more]