(M.M. or A.D.)
Every two years, one advanced pre-professional ensemble is selected for a two-year residency with the Miró Quartet. The chosen quartet receives weekly instruction and private study with members of the Miró Quartet, performs with the Symphony Orchestra or the New Music Ensemble on a rotational basis, and receives comprehensive guidance in career management.
The students act as the assistants to the Miró Quartet, and receive the equivalent of full scholarship plus an additional stipend. There is also a special project fund available to fund approved career activities for the group.
The group typically maintains a busy performance schedule, including recitals at the Butler School.
SOHA QUARTET
Mei Liu, violin
Chloe Yofan, violin
Thomas Gougeon, viola
Katsuaki Arakawa, cello
Formed in 2024 at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin, the Soha Quartet is a prize-winning young ensemble recognized for its vibrant musicality, thoughtful collaboration, and commitment to connecting chamber music with new audiences. The quartet won First Prize at the 2025 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition and Second Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2026 Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. Soha was also a finalist in the 2026 Coltman Chamber Music Competition.
The quartet’s 2025–26 season included performances at the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar and McGill International String Quartet Academy, as well as appearances at the Austin Chamber Music Center’s Chamber Music Intensive Showcase and Festival. The ensemble has collaborated with artists including Zlatomir Fung, Sandy Yamamoto, and Alice Yoo, and have worked with distinguished chamber musicians and pedagogues including the Juilliard, Schumann, and Calidore String Quartets, as well as Norman Fischer and Gerhard Schulz. Soha has also embraced collaborations across disciplines, including a performance with the University of Texas Department of Dance as part of its EQUINOX production.
In fall 2026, Soha begins a new chapter as the Young Professional String Quartet in Residence at the Butler School of Music, where the quartet will work closely with the Miró Quartet. The 2026–27 season expands the ensemble’s collaborative work through performances with hornist Patrick Hughes and pianist Colette Valentine, pianist Rick Rowley, and jazz pianist and composer Ross Margitza. Soha is featured on Margitza’s upcoming album, Discovery, further broadening the quartet’s work across musical genres and collaborative settings.
Deeply committed to education and community engagement, Soha has served as a Butler School of Music Community Representative for the Austin Chamber Music Center since spring 2025. Through this partnership, the quartet performs throughout the Austin area and leads coaching sessions and masterclasses for public school students. As they enter the 2026–27 season, Soha continues to perform, collaborate, teach, and bring the string quartet repertoire to audiences in Austin and beyond.
Previous Quartets
Risus Quartet
2021-2023
Based in South Korea, Risus Quartet comes to Austin as the Young Professional String Quartet in Residence beginning in Fall of 2021. The group received the Gold Medal and Grand Prize in the 2021 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
Haeni Lee, violin
Jieun Yoo, violin
Mary Eunkyung Chang, viola
Bobae Lee, cello
Thalea Quartet
2018-2020
Formed in 2014, the acclaimed Thalea String Quartet were top prize winners at both the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2018 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition, and they were named the Ernst Stiefel Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts for the 2019/20 season.
Invoke Quartet
2016-2018
Invoke weaves together traditional chamber music with Americana, bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz, and minimalism to create truly unique music, performing both original compositions and commissioned works tailored to their diverse instrumentation, which goes beyond traditional quartet instruments to include banjo, mandolin, and more.
Cordova
Quartet
2014-2016
Aiana
Quartet
2011-2013