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"The presentation catered to the expectations of a pop-music audience; individual movements were offered piecemeal, the exception being the whole of Shostakovich’s devastating Eighth String Quartet, played here with endearing intensity. Condescension was not on the program, which mixed and matched hard-driving pieces by Jefferson Friedman and Pierre Jalbert with Mozart, Haydn, Brahms and lighthearted Latin American music by Gabriela Lena Frank." -- Bernard Holland, New York Times

"superb quartet...." -- Allan Kozinn -- New York Times

"...this tightly knit ensemble brings single movements of quartets from Beethoven onwards. If they play anything from Gabriela Lena Frank's exciting South American folk music-inspired Leyendas, which they premiered and recorded, there should be dancing." -- Marc Geelhoed, Timeout Chicago

"Each young artist marries a nimble technique to eager-to-please intensity and unhackneyed joy." -- The Washington Post

"The New Voice Singles series is [the Chiara's] own attractive way of bringing new works to the attention of the CD-buying public . . . I hear nothing to suggest that this performance [of Robert Sirota's Triptych] is anything less than definitive." -- Fanfare, Raymond Tuttle

"Achieving an unforced power through purity of tone and deft articulations seems to be as natural as breathing or opening a book to this young ensemble. Other musicians would kill for such shapely phrasing, the ends of which are nothing short of exquisite." -- William Stibor, National Public Radio

"“[Shostakovich’s 8th Quartet] is a de profundis, a cry from the depths, and the darkness helped focus attention on the music, and on the fact that the Chiara played it very well, soft edges not muting its pained intensity.”" -- The New York Times, Anne Midgette

"The Chiara Quartet gave these works luminous performances, underlining the sweet-toned character of Ms. Frank’s score and the mystery and exoticism of Mr. Zhou’s work. But the best performances were searing accounts of the Bartok and Golijov pieces, for which the players produced a tone that ranged from glowing warmth to hard-edged acerbity, which each of these searing works demands." -- -- New York Times

"The music [Robert Sirota's Triptych] is powerful and evokes the emotions of 9/11 . . . and the Chiara Quartet plays [it] with feeling and virtuosity." -- American Record Guide, David Moore

"The Chiara's no-holds-barred approach was most effective in Jefferson Friedman's Quartet No. 3 (a world premiere). The players sustained this cinematically atmospheric score with masterly conviction, organizing the loose strands into a convincing dramatic whole and realizing a host of unusual sounds and textures with both gusto and finesse." -- The Strad, Andrew Farach-Colton

“. . . the Chiara String Quartet never, figuratively speaking, broke a sweat. You don’t realize how accustomed you are to hearing symptoms of labor in a string quartet until they’re not there. And with the Chiara quartet, they are not. It was almost eerie.” -- The Philadelphia Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns

". . . the award-winning foursome clearly has what it takes to make a lasting impression in the chamber music world." -- The Baltimore Sun, Tim Smith

"The Chiara String Quartet . . . grew up from the grass roots and represents a fresh voice for one of the world’s great musical traditions. This award-winning group of musicians–all in their late 20s–blends new and traditional repertoire and old-fashioned stage appeal to win followers in a young generation largely untutored in the ways of European art music." -- The Journal Star (IL)

"[The Chiara String Quartet] is not a chamber ensemble that simply takes their place on stage (with all the pomp and dignity usually associated with performers at this level) and plays a piece of music. This is an ensemble that performs. Music comes alive and vibrates across the stage from one performer to another, one instrument to the next.” -- Valley City Times-Record (ND)

"The quartet will be playing its latest recorded piece, “Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout,” as well as movements by other contemporary composers, including Jefferson Friedman, who was influenced by, among other groups, the post-punk rock group Fugazi." -- -- The Journal Star

"They’re among the pioneers who are making it acceptable for great music to be played anywhere." -- Fargo Forum, Fargo, ND

In club settings, or in concert halls who wish an alternate type of program, Chiara Quartet presents a "set list" approach to their classical programming: -Music is a blend of brand new classical music (esp. New Voice Singles pieces), old-school "classical" repertoire (Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms), 20th Century Music (Hindemith, Bartok), and an occasional cover tune. -Music is picked based on intensity and strength of feeling or mood. -Sets will be custom-tailored to the space, feel of the audience in the room, time of day or year, our feelings, etc.