Homepage   Biography   Members   Schedule   Reviews   Recordings   History   Listen   Contact   News   Photos 


Ralph Evans            Efim Boico         Wolfgang Laufer         Nicolò Eugelmi


INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIES


Ralph Evans RALPH EVANS, violinist, prizewinner in the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (video extract), concertized as soloist throughout Europe and North America before succeeding Leonard Sorkin as first violinist of the Fine Arts Quartet. Evans has recorded over 80 solo and chamber works to date. These include the two Bartók Sonatas for violin and piano, whose performance the New York Times enthusiastically recommended for its "searching insight and idiomatic flair," and three virtuoso violin pieces by Lukas Foss with the composer at the piano. Evans received four degrees including a doctorate from Yale University, where he graduated cum laude with a specialization in music, mathematics, and premed. While a Fulbright scholar in London, he studied with Szymon Goldberg and Nathan Milstein, and soon won the top prize in a number of major American competitions, including the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, and the National Federation of Music Clubs National Young Artist Competition. His award winning composition "Nocturne" has been performed on American Public Television and his String Quartet No.1, recently released on the Naxos label, has been warmly greeted in the press ("rich and inventive" - Toronto Star; "whimsical and clever, engaging and amusing" - All Music Guide; "vigorous and tuneful" - Montreal Gazette; "seductive, modern sonorities" - France Ouest; "a small masterpiece" - Gli Amici della Musica).


Efim Boico EFIM BOICO,  violinist, enjoys an international career that has included solo appearances under conductors Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Guilini, Claudio Abbado and Erich Leinsdorf, and performances with Daniel Barenboim, Radu Lupu and Pinchas Zuckerman. After receiving his musical training in his native Russia, he emigrated in 1967 to Israel, where he was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Israel Philharmonic - a position he held for eleven years. In 1971, he joined the Tel Aviv Quartet as second violinist, touring the world with guest artists such as André Previn and Vladimir Ashkenazy. In 1979, Boico was appointed concertmaster and soloist of the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim, positions he held until 1983, when he joined the Fine Arts Quartet. Boico has been guest professor at the Paris and Lyons Conservatories in France, and the Yehudi Menuhin School in Switzerland. He is also a frequent juror representing the United States in the prestigious London, Evian, and Shostakovich Quartet Competitions. As music professor at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, he has received numerous awards, including the Wisconsin Public Education Professional Service Award for distinguished music teaching, and the Arts Recognition and Talent Search Award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. 


Nicolo EugelmiNICOLÒ EUGELMI, violist, joined the Fine Arts Quartet in July, 2009. He is described by The Strad magazine as “a player of rare perception, with a keen ear for timbres and a vivid imagination.” As soloist, recitalist, and member of chamber ensembles, he has performed around the world, collaborating most notably with conductors Mario Bernardi, Jean-Claude Casadesus, and Charles Dutoit. Eugelmi completed his musical training at the University of British Columbia and the Juilliard School. In 1999, he was appointed Associate Principal Violist of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and in 2005, he became Principal Violist of the Canadian Opera Company. Eugelmi’s recording, Brahms: Sonatas and Songs, was named a "Strad Selection" by The Strad, and his recording, Brahms Lieder, a collaboration with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, was named "Editor’s Choice" by Gramophone. He has recorded regularly for the CBC and Radio-Canada. His mentor, Gerald Stanick, was a member of the Fine Arts Quartet from 1963 to 1968. 

Wolfgang Laufer WOLFGANG LAUFER, cellist, is an acclaimed soloist throughout Europe and the Americas. He has appeared as guest artist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Broadcasting Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Hanover Symphony Orchestra, Radio Orchestra of Hamburg, and Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and has toured Europe with the Wührer Chamber Orchestra and the United States with the Israel Chamber Orchestra. As a solo recitalist, Laufer has performed throughout Europe, North America, and South America. He emigrated from his native Romania to Israel in 1961, and completed his musical studies at the Tel-Aviv Academy, subsequently serving as principal cellist and soloist with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Malmo Symphony Orchestra of Sweden, Hamburg Philharmonic, and State Opera of Germany. Since 1979, Laufer has been a member of the Fine Arts Quartet and Professor of Cello at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.