Patricia Shih, violin
Yuel Yawney, violin
Nikita Pogrebnoy, viola
Shih-Lin Chen, cello

One of the most dynamic and exciting world-class ensembles of its generation, the Borealis String Quartet was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in the fall of 2000. Rapidly establishing a stellar reputation, the Borealis created a national sensation as the only classical ensemble televised on the Great Canadian Music Dream Competition hosted by the CBC. Consequently, they were invited to perform for the Prime Minister of Canada at the Canada Day Celebrations on Parliament Hill in front of an audience of over 75,000.

The Borealis has received enthusiastic acclaim from audiences in major cities in North America, including in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, where they played to a sold-out audience for the Schneider Concerts Series. Recent performances have included tours of Mexico, Taiwan, and North America. As well as extensive performing, the quartet is frequently heard on CBC Radio and other radio stations across North America and Asia. The Borealis has filmed music videos for Bravo Television, one of the largest arts stations in Canada, which were also debuted at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Their critically acclaimed CD entitled "Classic Borealis" recorded for Skylark Records was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award.

After their initial success in Taiwan in 2006, the Borealis was generously loaned a quartet of fine Italian instruments from the CHIMEI Culture Foundation, one of the leading string instrument collectors in the world. The instruments the Borealis performs on are a Giovanni Battista Rogeri violin (Cremona, 1698), a Lorenzo Storioni violin (Cremona, c 1780), a Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza viola (Milano, 1791), and a Lorenzo Storioni cello (Cremona, 1778). As String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of British Columbia, the Borealis presents a series of concerts and gives master classes and chamber music coachings each season at the School of Music in addition to their international performances and regional outreach activities.