Quartet Integra

　Described as having “an enormous wealth of colors… and sparkling rhythms” (All News Press), Quartet Integra is quickly developing a reputation of international prestige. In 2022, the quartet won Second Prize and the coveted Audience Award at the 2022 ARD International Music Competition, First Prize at the 2021 Bartók World Competition, and Third Prize along with the Sidney Griller Award at the 2025 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Additionally, Quartet Integra has received the Banca Monte dei Paschi Prize at the 2021 Accademia Musicale Chigiana, and the Kirishima International Music Festival Prize and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi Music Director Prize at the 2021 Kirishima International Music Festival.

　Recent and upcoming performances in North America include recitals at the Schneider Concert Series at the New School, Green Shoots Initiative at the Kennedy Center, Discovery Series at the La Jolla Music Society, Artist Series at the University of Boulder, ECHO Chamber Music Series, Nevada Chamber Music Festival, Santa Ynez Valley Series, and performances in Thayer and Zipper Halls at the Colburn School.

　Appearances in Europe include the Alte Oper Frankfurt and many other venues in Bad Tölz, Wiesloch, Florence, Siena, and Naples. Having already performed in numerous venues in Japan, they also give recitals annually in Toppan Hall and Oji Hall. In May 2025, they launched a six-year Beethoven Cycle in Dai-ichi Seimei Hall, Philia Hall, Munetsugu Hall, and Wakita Cordia Hall.

　Quartet Integra has performed and worked with artists including Augustin Hadelich, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Kazuhide Isomura, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Alexander Melnikov, Inon Barnatan, Fabio Bidini, Shigeo Neriki, Orion Weiss, and the Calidore String Quartet. They have participated in coachings and master classes with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Peter Oundjian, Milena Pajaro-Van de Stadt, Jean-Guihen Queyras, and the Arditti, Atrium, Henschel, Jerusalem, Shanghai, and Voce String Quartets.

　An active festival participant, Quartet Integra was invited by Günter Pichler (formerly of the Alban Berg Quartet) to attend the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena on a scholarship and have attended festivals such as Crans Montana Classics, Toyama Chamber Music Festival, and Kirishima International Music Festival. They have also been invited as guest artists to the PyeongChang Music Festival and the Takefu International Music Festival.

　Committed to contemporary works, Quartet Integra has commissioned many new works from Japanese composers and has given over a dozen world premieres. In June 2025, they also premiered a work by a South Korean composer, Texu Kim, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the “Japan-South Korea Treaty on Basic Relations” in Suntory Hall with pianist Jae Hong Park.

　Quartet Integra, consisting of first violinist Kyoka Misawa, second violinist Rintaro Kikuno, violist Itsuki Yamamoto, and cellist Ye Un Park, formed in 2015 and began their studies with Kazuhide Isomura and Nobuko Yamazaki at Toho Gakuen School of Music, continuing their academic work as a quartet as fellows at the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy. They served as the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence at the Colburn School in 2022-2025, under the guidance of Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith. Currently, Quartet Integra is in residence at ProQuartet – Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre for the season 2025-2027 (https://proquartet.fr) and is under the guidance of Oliver Wille at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.

(September 2025)

Short bio

　Described as having “an enormous wealth of colors… and sparkling rhythms” (All News Press), Quartet Integra is quickly developing a reputation of international prestige. In 2022, the quartet won Second Prize and the coveted Audience Award at the 2022 ARD International Music Competition, First Prize at the 2021 Bartók World Competition, and Third Prize and the Sidney Griller Award at the 2025 Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition.

　Quartet Integra has performed in numerous venues throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, and have collaborated with artists including Augustin Hadelich, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Alexander Melnikov, Fabio Bidini, Shigeo Neriki, and the Calidore String Quartet.

　Consisting of first violinist Kyoka Misawa, second violinist Rintaro Kikuno, violist Itsuki Yamamoto, and cellist Ye Un Park, Quartet Integra formed in 2015 and began their studies with Kazuhide Isomura and Nobuko Yamazaki at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, continuing their academic work as a quartet as fellows at the Suntory Hall Chamber Music Academy. They served as the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence at the Colburn School in 2022-2025, where they studied with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith. Currently, Quartet Integra is in residence at ProQuartet – Centre Européen de Musique de Chambre for the season 2025-2027(https://proquartet.fr) and is under the guidance of Oliver Wille at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.

(September 2025)

Individual bios

Kyoka Misawa, violin
Japanese violinist Kyoka Misawa is a member of Quartet Integra, currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Kammermusik at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with violinist Oliver Wille from the Kuss Quartet.
Kyoka is a prize winner of the Bartok World Competition (Hungary), Akiyoshidai Music Competition (Japan) as a string quartet, and the Czech Republic Music Competition (Japan) as a soloist. Recently, she won 2nd prize and Audience Award in the ARD International Competition (Munich) as a string quartet.
Kyoka has collaborated with artists including Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Kazuhide Isomura, Shigeo Neriki, Nobuko Yamazaki and the Jerusalem Quartet. She has also attended many music festivals such as Bad Leonfelden, Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Kirishima International festival, and Crans Montana Classics.
Previously, she received her Professional Studies Certificate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music as the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence, studying with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith, and studied with Koichiro Harada at the Toho Gakuen School of Music.
She plays on a Alexander Gagliano (1728), specially loaned by Nippon Violin.

Rintaro Kikuno, violin
Japanese violinist Rintaro Kikuno is a member of Quartet Integra, pursuing his Master’s Degree in Kammermusik at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with violinist Oliver Wille from the Kuss Quartet.
Rintaro has won numerous competitions in Japan, and has also performed with the Symphony Orchestra.
He has previously completed his Artist Diploma as the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, studying with Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith. He also studied with Ms. Akiko Tatsumi at the Toho Gakuen University of Music, and graduated as the top of his class.
Rintaro currently performs on a Cesare Candi made in 1938.

Itsuki Yamamoto, viola
Beginning his musical journey on the violin at the age of five, Itsuki Yamamoto switched to viola at eighteen, inspired by his encounter with the string quartet. As the violist of Quartet Integra, he has won prizes at prestigious competitions including the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, and is deeply involved in the ensemble’s artistic direction and programming.
As a soloist, he regularly gives recitals exploring a wide range of repertoire, and several composers have written works for him ̶ notably Masahiro Ishijima, whose music has had a profound influence on his artistic outlook. He has also appeared as guest principal viola with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa. As a composer, his work When she talks for solo violin (2024) was premiered in Tokyo and Los Angeles.
He studied viola with Ryo Sasaki and chamber music with Kazuhide Isomura and Nobuko Yamazaki at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, and later continued his studies with Tatjana Masurenko, Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith at The Colburn School in Los Angeles. Currently based in Hannover, he continues his artistic development at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, studying chamber music with Oliver Wille.
In addition to his performance activities, he has started to give string quartet masterclasses in Japan, sharing his musical ideas and experience in chamber music.

Ye Un Park, cello
Born in 2003, South Korean cellist Ye Un Park is a member of Quartet Integra. She is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Kammermusik at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with violinist Oliver Wille from the Kuss Quartet.
Previously, she received her Bachelor of Music along with the Chamber Ensemble-in-Residence program at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, under the guidance of Martin Beaver, Jonathan Brown, and Clive Greensmith. Ye Un has also attended the Colburn Music Academy and Yewon Arts School, where she studied with Ji Hyun Oh.
As an active chamber musician, Ye Un has collaborated with world-renowned artists including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Orion Weiss, Ray Chen, Clive Greensmith, Nobuko Yamazaki, Jennifer Grim, Andy Akiho, and the Dover Quartet. She was also a founding member of Trio Azura which received the “Rotary Club Siena” prize at the 2023 Accademia Musicale Chigiana.
As a soloist, she made her debut through the Kumho Young Prodigy Series at the age of 12. Ye Un won many major competitions in South Korea, and also began to emerge in international competitions, such as the 2023 Paulo Competition and the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition, where she was the youngest candidate.

（September 2025）