Returning to the Hop to celebrate their 30th year, the St. Lawrence String Quartet has earned its place among the world’s most compelling string quartets for its intellectually and emotionally charged performances. The ensemble will serve up commissioned works by John Adams and Osvaldo Golijov, sandwiched between Haydn quartets. The New Yorker writes "no other North American quartet plays ... with more intelligence, expressivity, and force."

Established in Toronto in 1989, the SLSQ quickly earned acclaim at top international chamber music competitions and was soon playing hundreds of concerts per year worldwide. The group established an ongoing residency at Spoleto Festival USA and made prize-winning recordings for EMI of music by Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Golijov, earning two Grammy nominations and a host of other prizes. Ensemble-in-residence at Stanford University since 1998, the SLSQ is at the forefront of intellectual life on campus, directing the music department's chamber music program and collaborating across disciplines, including with the Schools of Law, Medicine, Business and Education. The quartet frequently performs at Stanford Live, hosts an annual chamber music seminar, and runs the Emerging String Quartet Program through which they mentor the next generation of young quartets.