David Bernat succeeds Wayne Lee, who has served the ensemble for twelve years
The Formosa Quartet has announced the appointment of violinist David Bernat to the ensemble. Bernat replaces Wayne Lee, who joined the group in 2012 and is retiring from the quartet to devote more time to his family and establish deeper roots in the Seattle area.
Bernat commented that he was thrilled to be joining the Formosa Quartet, which comprises violinist Jasmine Lin, violist Matthew Cohen and cellist Deborah Pae.
’From my first experience playing with the quartet, I felt a unique warmth of spirit that allowed for a thrilling spontaneity and a true sense of exploration in the music making,’ Bernat said.
’It is particularly inspiring that these qualities extend into their constantly evolving vision for programming and their activities as educators. I am eager to begin creating with them, and am excited for the adventures ahead.’
Bernat leads a multifaceted career as a performer, educator and artistic director of the Grace Note Farm Music Festival. As a soloist and chamber musician, recent engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, Marlboro Music Festival, and Red Barn Chamber Music in Iowa City, as well as radio appearances on the BBC Radio 3 program ’In Tune’ and at WQXR’s Greene Space.
He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and is a C.V.Starr Doctoral Fellow at the Juilliard School, as well as a member of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect for the 2023-25 seasons.
The members of the Formosa Quartet thanked Lee for his twelve years of service to the quartet, remarking on his ’artisty, intelligence, buisness savvy, sophistication, imaginativeness, heart and team spirit.
’While we will miss him greatly, we are tremendously excited to welcome David, whose brilliance, uniqueness, and creativity open up whole new worlds of possibility in our onward journey,’ the quartet commented.
The Formosa Quartet has sustained an international performing and educational career since its victory at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in 2006, where it also received the Amadeus Prize. The ensemble serves as quartet-in-residence at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.
The members of the quartet perform on violins by Andrea Guarneri (1662) and G.B. Guadagnini (1753), a Peter Westerlund viola (2014), and a Vincenzo Postiglione cello (1885).
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