The Indianapolis Quartet (TIQ) was established in 2016 and is currently in residence at the University of Indianapolis, with support from the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation. With violinists Zachary DePue and Joana Genova, violist Michael Isaac Strauss, and cellist Austin Huntington, the member’s palpable rapport and interpretive skill bring about performances of a unique emotional style that has earned the group critical praise and audience affection.
They regularly perform to capacity crowds in the University of Indianapolis’ 500-seat Ruth Lilly Hall at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center, an award-winning concert space.
Frequent collaborations with premier chamber music artists and composers, who recently included pianists Drew Peterson and Soyeon Kate Lee, have afforded TIQ a creative expansion of its repertoire and reach to new audiences. In the past three seasons alone, they have collaborated with the acclaimed artists Orli Shaham, Mark Kosower, Todd Palmer, Atar Arad, Eric Kim, Carrie Dennis, and Nick Canellakis, among others. They have featured the works of New York City-based composer Robert Paterson and Indianapolis-based composer Frank Felice. New recordings by TIQ of both of these composers’ works will be released in 2020.
The quartet made its Chicago debut in March 2018. In the last year, the quartet has broadcast live performances on Vermont Public Radio, WBAA Classical 101.3 FM in West Lafayette, Indiana, and on WISH-TV 5 in Indianapolis. They have been heard on concert series and stages in Phoenix, Cincinnati, at Illinois Wesleyan University, in West Lafayette (IN), and at the Indiana Landmarks Center and Butler University in Indianapolis. They were also the featured ensemble at the 53rd Contemporary Music Festival at Indiana State University. They make their New York City debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall on March 5, 2020.
MEMBERS
Zachary DePue, violin
The Indianapolis Quartet first violinist Zachary DePue has established himself in concert venues around the world delivering virtuosic high-energy performances. He demonstrates command as a leader, soloist, collaborator, and improvisational artist reaching across a diverse landscape of music. His authentic warmth and generosity on stage invites audiences to join him in all his explorations. Zach became one of the youngest concertmasters in the country when he was appointed to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) in 2007. For more than a decade, Zach served the orchestra as a passionate and dedicated leader both in and outside the concert hall. He was named a member of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series, connecting Indianapolis’ emerging leaders to the issues and needs of the community. Zach rose to international prominence as a founding member of Time for Three, with whom he performed for 15 years. During his tenure with the category-defying trio, he made numerous tours and gave high-profile appearances, including a performance on the 2014 semifinals round of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. They were the ISO’s first ensemble-in-residence, charged with introducing new audiences to the symphony experience and breathing fresh creative life into the orchestra’s Happy Hour Concert Series. Zach recorded four albums of original music and arrangements with Time For Three.
He is the youngest of four brothers—all violinists—who make up The DePue Brothers Band, an eclectic ensemble that blends bluegrass and classical music, with elements of jazz, blues and rock. Zach graduated in 2002 from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he served as concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and studied with renowned violinists Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo. He is a former member of the Philadelphia Orchestra where he performed in the first violin section for five years. He performs on a violin made by Giuseppe Rocca of Turin, Italy, in 1846.
Joana Genova, violin
Joana Genova is Assistant Professor of Violin and Director of Chamber Music Initiatives at University of Indianapolis, and Artistic Director of Taconic Music in Manchester, VT. Ms. Genova began playing violin at the age of six in her native Bulgaria, made her solo debut at the age of twelve with the Plovdiv Chamber Orchestra, and is a prizewinner of Bulgaria’s National Competition. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and Master’s in chamber music at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. Her former teachers include Peter Brunt, Ilya Grubert and Samuel Thaviu. In Holland, Ms. Genova was concertmaster of the Amsterdam Bach Consort and a member of Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Since 2000, Ms. Genova has lived in the United States, maintaining an active career as a concert violinist, chamber musician, teacher and orchestral player. She has been guest soloist with Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, Harlem Chamber Players, Metropolitan, Rockaway, Danbury and Berkshire Symphonies, Manchester Festival Orchestra, Yonkers Philharmonic and most recently with the University of Indianapolis Gala Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Raymond Leppard.
Michael Strauss, viola
Violist Michael Isaac Strauss has performed around the world appearing on concert series, live-radio broadcasts, and festivals across Europe, North America, and Asia. A former member of the Fine Arts Quartet, Strauss made several European and domestic tours, as well as a critically acclaimed recording of Mozart’s complete viola quintets. As soloist, he released recordings of the premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Sonata, David Finko’s Viola Concerto, and Stamitz’s works for solo viola with orchestra. His chamber music recordings include the Philadelphia-based Orchestra 2001 series of music by living composers and the Oberlin Music label release Wordless Verses—trio works inspired by poetry for oboe, viola, and piano. He is also the featured violist on the Suzuki Viola School Volumes 8 and 9 recordings. Strauss was principal violist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for 20 years and has served on the faculty of several prominent schools including Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, and Swarthmore College. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Austin Huntington, cello
Cellist Austin Huntington made his solo orchestral debut at the age of 10, and at age 20 he was appointed principal cellist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, currently making him one of the youngest principal musicians in a major American orchestra. Huntington is the recipient of numerous awards on both the national and international levels. He placed first in the 2012 Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition and the 2009 MTNA National Sting Competition, and won second place and the Audience Choice Award at the 2013 Schadt National String Competition. He has collaborated with artists including Itzhak Perlman, Edgar Meyer, Robert deMaine, Cynthia Phelps, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Augustin Hadelich.