As with many ensembles formed at the beginning of the 21st century, the Afiara String Quartet is enthusiastic about new music that does away with the old definitions of Classical and Popular music. Afiara was formed in 2006 by students at San Francisco State University. Afiara studied under the Alexander Quartet, then with the Juilliard String Quartet. Along the way, it began winning prizes in the U.S. and in Canada. Its first recording -- music of Mendelssohn and Schubert -- was released in 2010, followed by an album of Beethoven in 2014. Its next project, entitled Spin Cycle, utilized the talents of four Canadian composers and DJ Skratch Bastid. Brett Abigana, Dan Becker, and Jason Bush have written music for Afiara, and it has worked with timpanist Louis Siu, singer Kyrie Kristmanson, and composer Patrick Carrabré. Afiara has performed and held residencies at festivals throughout North America and Europe. ~ Patsy Morita