Amernet String Quartet

The Amernet String Quartet has garnered worldwide praise and recognition as one of today’s exceptional young string quartets. The ensemble rose to international attention after only one year of existence, after winning the Gold Medal at the 7th Tokyo International Music Competition in 1992.

Three years later the group was the First Prize winner of the prestigious 5th Banff International String Quartet Competition. The Amernet String Quartet has been described by The New York Times as “an accomplished and intelligent ensemble”, and by the Nürnberger Nachrichten (Germany) as “fascinating with flawless intonation, extraordinary beauty of sound, virtuosic brilliance and homogeneity of ensemble”.

The Amernet String Quartet was formed in 1991, while two of its members were students at The Juilliard School. Founding members Marcia Littley and Javier Arias have been joined by fellow Juilliard graduates, violinist Misha Vitenson and violist Michael Klotz.

Their busy performance schedule has taken the group to the major musical centers and smaller cities across the United States. They also have performed concerts in Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, Korea, Mexico, and most recently, in Romania. The Amernet’s New York debut was at Merkin Hall in 1994, with a return engagement in 1995. Subsequent New York appearances include Carnegie’s Weill
Recital Hall in 1996 and 1998, the Americas Society in 1998, and Alice Tully Hall in 1997 and 1998, which The New York Times described as “immensely satisfying... most notable for the quality of unjaded discovery that came through so vividly.”

From September of 2000 until May 2004 the Amernet String Quartet was Corbett String Quartet in Residence at Northern Kentucky University, where they headed the Patricia A. Corbett String Program. Previous to that, the group held a
residency at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where they taught chamber music for four years.

In January 2004 the Amernet String Quartet was named Quartet-in-Residence at Florida International University, succeeding the Miami String Quartet. Additionally, they are the 2004-2005 Ernst Stiefel Quartet-in-Residence for the Caramoor Center for the Arts.