Its name derived from creation mythology found in Native American Folklore, the Turtle Island Quartet, since its inception in 1985, has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and most recently, the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined.

The four members of Vital Quartet, violist William Frampton, cellist Alberto Parrini, and violinists Philip Payton and Orlando Wells, perform with a multitude of arts organizations in New York City and indeed around the world.

Hailed by Gramophone magazine for its "warmly considered playing" and "shadings of exquisite sheen and vibrancy," the Volta Piano Trio, formerly known as the Icicle Creek Piano Trio, has established itself as one of the Pacific Northwest's premier chamber ensembles. The members of the Volta Piano Trio originate from the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia. Together or as individuals, Jennifer Caine Provine, Sally Singer, and Oxana Ejokina have performed in venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall, the Phillips Collection, and the Royal Albert Hall, and have toured in Austria, Germany, France, Italy, and the U.K.

The Westerlies are a New York based brass quartet comprised of four childhood friends from Seattle, Washington: Riley Mulherkar and Zubin Hensler on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch on trombone.

Formed in 2011, the self-described “accidental brass quartet” take their name from the prevailing winds from the West to the East.