July 9-11, 2026
Performance #1: 6:00 - 8:30 PM
Performance #2: 7:30 - 10:00 PM
We return to the vaulted stillness of the Green-Wood Catacombs for the final completed string quartet of Beethoven – the luminous and enigmatic String Quartet in F major, Op. 135.
Composed just months before his death, Op. 135 stands apart from Beethoven's other late quartets. Where some rage against fate or reach toward the infinite, this final work feels like a resolute whisper – intimate, questioning, and unexpectedly serene. Beethoven inscribed the opening of the final movement with an enigmatic statement: “Must it be? It must be.” In these final pages, Beethoven doesn't shout into the abyss; instead he embraces and converses with it.
In powerful counterpoint, Beethoven's Op. 135 is paired with the NYC premiere of Jeff Scott’s Tapestry of the Beloved Beatified, a ritual of remembrance honoring the activists Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk, Sylvia Rivera, and Jeanne Manford. Too often marginalized by history, their lives rise here not as symbols of struggle, but as radiant, deeply human presences–defiant, compassionate, and enduring. Scott’s score unfolds through shifting textures of chant, whispered testimony, and expanding polyphony, at moments breaking into speech-like utterance, as if memory itself were finding its voice.
Performing this singular program is the Poiesis Quartet, named one of The New York Times’ Performances of the Year in 2025. Praised for their precision, warmth, and fearless programming, Poiesis has established itself as one of the most compelling young ensembles on today’s stage, and we're honored to bring their elemental, urgent music-making to the intimacy of the catacombs.
One of today’s most celebrated young quartets bring Beethoven's final question, and Jeff Scott's radiant act of remembrance into the still of the Catacombs.
What You Can Expect
The pre-show reception takes place in the modern chapel of Green-Wood Cemetery, where you'll enjoy both alcoholic and non-alcoholic libations, as well as charcuterie and snacks (all included in ticket price - it's enough food to stave off starvation, but you'll still probably want a bit more of a meal before or after the show). Then we'll take a 25 minute stroll through the cemetery (or a trolley ride if you so please) to the Catacombs for the concert - seating is general admission, but there are no bad seats given the intimacy of the space! After the concert, we'll have a moonlit walk back to the front of the cemetery (though once again, a trolley is available if you prefer).
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: String Quartet Op. 135
JEFF SCOTT: Tapestry of the Beloved Beatified
Celebrated for their "multifaceted artistry" and "brilliantly idiomatic" programming (New York Times), the Poiesis Quartet is the winner of the 2026 Cleveland Quartet Award and the First Prize and Commission Prize recipients of the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition. In 2023, they were also named the Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, as well as Gold Medal and BIPOC Prize winners at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. In May 2024, Poiesis joined the Concert Artists Guild roster for North American management as winners of the Louis and Susan Meisel Competition.
Derived from ancient Greek (ποιεῖν), the word Poiesis means “to make”; specifically, to create something that has never existed before. With a focus on expanding the string quartet repertoire with vibrant new works by emerging composers, the Poiesis Quartet infuses each performance with unique moments of synchronicity and verve. Their 2024 debut album ‘as we are’ on the Bright Shiny Things label, which features world premiere recordings with mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby, was lauded for the quartet’s “bottomless depth” (Cleveland Classical). Having had presented several world premieres of works by composers including Brian Raphael Nabors, Kitty Brazelton, and Cara Haxo, their commission of String Quartet No. 7 ‘Surfacing’ by Chinese-Canadian composer Kevin Lau received its world premiere at the Chautauqua Institution in 2025. Furthermore, the Oberlin Commission Project (TOCP), an exciting new endeavor spearheaded by Poiesis, presents the world premieres of five newly commissioned works by LGBTQ+ composers of color from Oberlin Conservatory in March 2026.
Poiesis is honored to be selected as the 2025-26 Ernst Stiefl Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, and as the 2025 St. Lawrence Emerging String Quartet in Residence at Stanford University, Poiesis has also previously acted as ensemble-in-residence of concertnova, a Cincinnati-based collective which presents multi-sensorial and interdisciplinary concert experiences. Recent and upcoming engagements include the San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Newport Classical, Chamber Music Raleigh, Noe Music, Guarneri Hall, and the Austin Chamber Music Center, amongst others. Highlights of the 2025-26 season include performances of ‘Absolute Jest’ with the Dayton Philharmonic in Dayton, OH and with the Oberlin Orchestra in Oberlin, OH. Poiesis has completed multiple international residencies in Punta del Diablo and Punta del Este, Uruguay; the Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy; the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Nova Scotia, CAN; the University of Victoria in British Columbia, CAN; and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in France. Additionally, the Poiesis was selected as the only North American ensemble to compete in the prestigious 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition in Alberta, CAN.
The Poiesis Quartet is currently the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) studying under the Ariel Quartet. As graduates of Oberlin College & Conservatory, they were previously mentored by Sibbi Bernhardsson of the Pacifica Quartet and members of the Verona Quartet. As a multi-faceted ensemble, in addition to their performance degrees from Oberlin, members of the quartet also individually received formal education in disciplines such as chemistry, comparative American studies, feminist studies, baroque, and jazz. When not playing chamber music, Poiesis loves to learn new languages, share ice cream cakes, and take long walks on the beach.