ESENCIA QUARTET
ABOUT US!
The Esencia Quartet is a Baltimore-based string quartet featuring violinists Airi Yoshioka and Diana Sanchez, violist Sarah Kheel, and cellist Ismar Gomes. As an international ensemble with musicians from Colombia, Japan, Israel, and the United States, their mission is to foster unity through the shared joy of Western classical music and the unique sounds of their respective cultures.
The quartet's members are award-winning musicians, having won solo and chamber music competitions such as the Young Artist Competition of the New Horizons Symphony Orchestra in New Mexico, the Young Performers of the Luis Angel Arango in Colombia, the American Fine Arts Festival Competition. Members have been hailed as “brilliant and intrepid” and among the “most talented Baltimore musicians”.
Esencia Quartet members have performed and recorded with orchestras worldwide and performed in venues like Carnegie Hall in New York, Teatro Colón in Colombia, Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv, and Sala São Paulo in Brazil. Members have performed and recorded with the members of the Emerson, Brentano and Arditti Quartets and been founding members of ensembles such as the New Juilliard Ensemble. They have recorded under New World, Naxos, Claves, Mode, Albany, Parma, New Focus and Pony Canyon records and toured worldwide.
Founded in 2023, the Esencia Quartet has been attracting diverse audiences with their sold-out concerts. They share beloved classical repertoire and pieces from their homelands and cultures, aiming to create new favorites for their listeners.
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Airi Yoshioka
Violin
Hailed by the Gramophone Magazine as “brilliant and intrepid”, violinist Airi Yoshioka has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. She is the founding member of Duo della Luna, Damocles Trio, and Voyager Ensemble and has performed and recorded with the members of Emerson, Brentano and Arditti Quartets. An enthusiastic performer of new music, she has premiered dozens of works and was one of the original members and concertmasters of the New Juilliard Ensemble. She is a member of Continuum, ModernWorks, Son Sonora, Azure, Ruckus and Ensemble Pi. She has recorded extensively and her solo and chamber recordings can be heard on New World, Naxos, Claves, Mode, Albany, Parma, New Focus and Pony Canyon records. She is on faculty at University of Maryland Baltimore County and her work as a Teaching Artist has brought her to many schools and institutions around the world. For more information: airiyoshioka.com
Diana SancheZ
violin
Born in Bogota, Colombia, Diana Sánchez, a faculty member of the Peabody Preparatory of Johns Hopkins University, has developed an international career as a violinist. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the New Horizons Symphony in New Mexico (2017) and the Ibague Symphony Orchestra in Colombia (2019). She has toured internationally with the Cincopando Ensemble, the Colombian Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Mexico State University Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bogota Symphony Orchestra, the National University of Colombia Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Orchestras where she has been an active member include the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Panama City Symphony Orchestra, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, Roswell Symphony Orchestra, Bogota Symphony Orchestra, the Clara Schumann Women’s Orchestra, among others.
Diana has been teaching professionally since 2008. In 2010, she was part of the violin faculty of Montalban in Caracas, Venezuela, for El Sistema program. Between 2012 and 2016 she was a violin and music teacher in Colombia at Tocar y Luchar and the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra music education program. In addition to her faculty position at Peabody Preparatory, she is currently performing and teaching with the Iris Music Project at Weinberg Villages and Weinberg Manors in Maryland.
Diana has also participated in different music festivals including the Vienna Summer Music Festival and the Aruba Symphony Festival. Since 2021, she has been invited to New Mexico State University to participate in different events and festivals as violin faculty and clinician. Additionally, she is currently part of the core faculty at the New England Music Camp.
Diana is a co-founder of the Esencia Quartet, where she currently performs. Additionally, she has vast experience playing in different ensembles including the Iris Music Project Piano Trio (2021-present), the Embassy String Quartet (2023), the Latin American ensemble Cincopando (2018-2020), Julian Guerrero y su Compas de Tango (2013-2016), Alla Corda String Quartet (2006-2008), among others.
Sarah
Kheel
Viola
International violist, Sarah Kheel performs as a solo and collaborative artist in the U.S. and abroad. She has appeared as a soloist in three continents, including multiple performances in Carnegie Hall and a televised solo recital with the Kostroma Symphony Orchestra. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her playing, including first place in the American Fine Arts Festival Competition and second place in the AFAF Concerto Competition. She has been listed by Style Magazine as one of Baltimore’s most talented musicians.
Sarah is always up for new projects. She is an advocate of new compositions and has commissioned and premiered works by composers such as Jonathan Leshnoff and Boris Pigovat. Sarah co-founded and directed the concert series, Chamber Encounters and music program, Baltimore Bows and is now a founding member of the Esencia Quartet.
Sarah Kheel’s education includes study at the Rubin Academy of Music and Peabody Conservatory with renowned teachers, Gad Lewertoff, Victoria Chiang, and Maria Lambros. She holds a BM, MM, and a DMA from the Peabody Conservatory. She currently enjoys performing chamber concerts around the Baltimore, Washington area with the Esencia Quartet and teaching at the Peabody Preparatory.
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Ismar Gomes
Cello
Dr. Ismar Gomes is a chamber musician, recitalist, baroque cellist, and orchestral player. Recent
performance highlights include recitals as a member of Duo Sorolla on distinguished concert
series across the United States, as well as collaborations with members of the Pittsburgh
Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Emerson, and the Johannes Quartets. A former
member of the Virginia and Richmond Symphonies, he frequently performs with the Baltimore
Symphony. As a baroque cellist, Dr. Gomes is a member of Mélomanie and is a regular guest
with several early music ensembles. A member of the Valencia Baryton Project, Dr. Gomes will
embark on several national tours over the coming seasons and continue recording the Haydn
Baryton Trios for Naxos. Dr. Gomes has worked with many important composers including
George Walker, Aaron Jay Kernis, Marc Neikrug, James Lee III, and David Lang and has
additionally commissioned and championed works by many of today’s leading and emerging
composers. As a recording artist Dr. Gomes has recorded with the Harlem Quartet and recently
released two albums with Mélomanie, apart from other efforts showcasing the works of Larry
Nelson, Mark Hagerty, and others. Formerly Visiting Assistant Professor of Cello at Luther
College, he currently serves on the Cello and Chamber Music Faculty at George Mason
University and Gettysburg College, and has presented masterclasses at many institutions
including Shenandoah Conservatory, Georgetown, Towson, and Duke Universities. Past faculty
appointments include the Cleveland Institute of Music Summer Chamber Music Festival,
StringFest at Merkin Hall, the Performing Arts Institute, CelloSpeak, and the Three Bridges
Festival. Dr. Gomes is the Artistic Director of the Rushmore Music Festival, where he also serves
as a Faculty Artist and a member of the Board. Ismar attended the Peabody Conservatory,
studying with Alison Wells and Amit Peled. Previous teachers include Marc Johnson and Clive
Greensmith of the Vermeer and Tokyo Quartets. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree
from Stony Brook University, under the tutelage of Colin Carr.
concerts
String Quartet Concert
works by Haydn, Brahms, Schubert, and Shostakovich
May 25, 2025, 6:30 pm Owings Mills, MD
Epiphany Concert Series
works by Brahms and Schubert
April 29, 2025, 12:00 pm Washington, DC
Razvi Concert Series
works by Haydn, Brahms and Schubert
April 27, 2025, 7:00 pm Thurmont, MD
String Trio Concert
works by Leshnoff, Krasa, and Mozart
November 16, 2024, 7:00 pm Owings Mills, MD
String Quartet Concert
works by Mozart, Montaña, Atehourtúa, Halvorsen, and Satie
Sunday, May 5, 2024, 3:00 pm Owings Mills, MD
String Quartet Concert
works by Borodin, Villa-Lobos, Atehortúa, and Cassadó
Saturday, December 9, 2023, 7:30 pm Owings Mills, MD
Contact Us
for booking inquiries and concert updates.
