Violinist Gabriela Dìaz ’03, ’05 MM Joins World-Renowned Kronos Quartet, Making Two of Four Quartet Members NEC Alumni

Violinist, alumna, and former NEC faculty member Gabriela Díaz ’03, ’05 MM is the newest member of the world-renowned Kronos Quartet. She joins alongside violist Ayane Kozasa following the retirement of longstanding ensemble members John Sherba and Hank Dutt. 

With the addition of Díaz, half of the famed Kronos Quartet’s members are now NEC alumni. Cellist Paul Wiancko ’12 GD joined the quartet in February 2023.

The Kronos Quartet completed its 50th anniversary season in June. In its more than five decades together, Kronos has commissioned more than 1,100 new works and arrangements, performed thousands of concerts worldwide, and sold more than four million recordings. The quartet has won three Grammy Awards, 12 nominations, and numerous other prizes. 

“Kronos really is opening up what the string quartet can and should be,” Díaz said in a piece published by Wellesley College, where she is on the music faculty. “The majority of the most important 20th- and 21st-century works for quartet are works that they’ve been involved with. And, since the beginning, they’ve made a point to uplift music of all countries. They’ve always operated with respect for the music of every culture on the globe.”

Critics have acclaimed Dìaz as “a young violin master” and “one of Boston’s most valuable players.” A long-time champion of contemporary music, she has worked closely with significant composers, including Pierre Boulez, Steve Reich, Joan Tower, and many others. Her recording of Lou Harrison’s Suite for Violin and American Gamelan was highlighted in the New York Times Article “5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Classical Music.” 

In 2004, Dìaz created the Boston Hope Ensemble, a program now part of Winsor Music. Through this program, musicians perform in cancer units in Boston hospitals and present benefit concerts for cancer research organizations in numerous venues throughout the United States. She performs regularly with Winsor Music (of which she is co-artistic director), Castle of our Skins, Radius Ensemble, and Emmanuel Music and frequently collaborates with Alarm Will Sound, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICEensemble), and A Far Cry.  

While earning her Bachelor's and Master of Music at NEC, Dìaz studied violin with the late James Buswell. Kronos Quartet cellist and NEC alumnus Paul Wiancko studied with Paul Katz.