By Mike Telin
Since their founding at the Oberlin Conservatory in the fall of 2022, the Poiesis Quartet — Sarah Ying Ma and Max Ball (violins), Jasper de Boor (viola), and Drew Dansby (cello) — have quickly risen to the top of professional chamber music ensembles.
Their accolades include the Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2023), Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize winners at the St. Paul String Quartet Competition (2023), and First Prize and Commission Prize recipients of the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2025). Most recently they were named the recipients of the Cleveland Quartet Award (2026).
On Wednesday, March 11 at 7:30 pm in Oberlin’s Warner Concert Hall, the Poiesis will present A Love Letter, five world premieres by emerging QTPOC (Queer/Trans People of Color) composers from their alma mater. A pre-concert talk begins at 7:00 pm.