Ivalas Quartet Welcomes Violinist Adeline Baban at Outset of Its 10th Season

NEW YORK, NY | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — The Ivalas Quartet is excited to announce the appointment of Adeline Baban as second violinist. She succeeds Tiani Butts.

Ivalas Quartet. l to r: Pedro Sánchez, cello; Marcus Stevenson, viola; 
Adeline Baban, violin; Reuben Kebede, violin. Photo: Pedro Sánchez.

ABOUT ADELINE BABAN
Filipina American violinist Adeline Baban is a recent graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. A leading advocate for community-building through the arts, she is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Westside Chamber Players, a New York City-based chamber orchestra founded in 2022, and has created programming initiatives for organizations including the Asian American Arts Alliance and Next Festival of Emerging Artists. Her love of chamber music has been greatly shaped by her mentors Nicholas Mann, Peter Winograd, Rebecca Fischer, and Amelia Dietrich. Ms. Baban holds a Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor’s degree from the Mannes School of Music.

Ms. Baban said, “Getting to know and performing alongside Pedro, Marcus, and Reuben these last few months has been an absolute honor, and I couldn’t be more excited to dive right in as Ivalas Quartet celebrates the incredible milestone of its 10th anniversary this season.”

“We’re so excited to welcome Adeline Baban to the Ivalas Quartet!,” added her new Ivalas Quartet colleagues, first violinist Reuben Kebede, violist Marcus Stevenson, and cellist Pedro Sánchez. “She brings a unique combination of artistry, musicianship, imagination, and entrepreneurial spirit to everything she does. She has built a career around her belief in the power of music to bring people together and create community. Adeline’s curiosity, creativity, generosity, and infectious energy already feel right at home in Ivalas, and we know she will bring so much to the music, the friendships, and the community we continue to build together.”

“I’m so grateful for the many communities, audiences, musicians, and friends who have welcomed us with open arms throughout five unforgettable years with the Ivalas Quartet,” said Ms. Butts. “Getting to share music with so many people and to experience the incredible communities we’ve been welcomed into has been one of the most meaningful parts of my time with Ivalas.”

ABOUT THE IVALAS QUARTET
Hailed for its playing of “tremendous heart and beauty” (The Strad) and the “pure pleasure” of its performances (Steve Smith, Night After Night), the Ivalas Quartet has been changing the face of classical music since 2017 with a mission to enrich the classical music world by spotlighting past and present BIPOC composers alongside the standard repertory. They have championed the music of Eleanor Alberga, Gabriela Lena Frank, Osvaldo Golijov, Jessie Montgomery, Angélica Negrón, Iván Enrique Rodríguez, Alvin Singleton, and George Walker, and premiered Derrick Skye’s Deliverance through a commission from Caramoor and recorded Carlos Simon’s Warmth from Other Suns for Rising Sun Music. They were the augural Fellowship Ensemble of the Kaufman Music Center in New York City and resident ensemble of the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program in 2025-2026, and the 2024-2025 Curator/Ensemble of the Schneider Concerts at The New School. The Ivalas Quartet was the Graduate Resident String Quartet at The Juilliard School from 2022 to 2024, where they studied with the Juilliard String Quartet. They were previously in residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder under the mentorship of the Takács Quartet. In turn, they have devoted themselves to educational and community outreach, working in tandem with such organizations as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New Latin Wave, and countless public schools throughout the U.S.

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