Alumni Help Lead Terra String Quartet to Naumburg Chamber Music Competition Win

NEC Alumni Harriet Langley ’17 and Audrey Chen ’19 Harvard/NEC, along with former NEC student Chih-Ta Chen, are among the members of the Terra String Quartet, winners of the 2025 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. The honor adds to a remarkable year for the New York–based ensemble, which also earned major prizes at the 2025 Bordeaux and 2025 Wigmore Hall International Quartet Competitions.

Known for their expressive storytelling and artistic versatility, TSQ is composed of graduates from NEC, Juilliard, Harvard, and the Curtis Institute of Music. The quartet currently serves as the 2024–26 Fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music and recently completed their tenure as Caramoor’s 2024–25 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, where they curated programs centered on Benjamin Britten’s quartets and supported a new commission by composer Juri Seo.

TSQ is also deeply committed to education and community engagement, having served as the 2023–24 Project Music Heals Us Arts Leadership Ensemble. Their mentors include the Brentano Quartet, Ara Gregorian, and Marcy Rosen.

The quartet has previously won top prizes at the Melbourne and Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions (2023) and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2022). Outside their musical achievements, the members enjoy playing Mahjong together and exploring instrument and bow craftsmanship.

With their Naumburg victory, TSQ continues to establish itself as one of today’s most compelling young chamber ensembles, carrying strong NEC connections to the world stage.