Chamber Music at its Finest. Sergey Ostrovsky, First Violin, Evgenia Epshtein, Second Violin, Shuli Waterman, Viola, Rachel Mercer, Cello This outstanding string quartet was founded in Israel in 1997, as a private initiative of four young musicians. It has gone on to become a prizewinning chamber ensemble of international acclaim. The Aviv String Quartet has won first prize in chamber music competitions in Australia, France, Netherlands, and Austria. Aviv was also proclaimed “Best Young Ensemble” by the culture ministries of Germany, and Israel, and received Best Musical Ensemble in Israel in 2003. During the last twelve years, the Aviv Quartet has performed its repertoire of over one hundred chamber works on some of the world’s most important stages. Individually, each musician in the ensemble is a standout performer. Sergey Ostrovsky, First Violin, won first prize in the Israeli Violin Competition, and has been concertmaster of several Israeli orchestras. He has performed concertos with all the Israeli orchestras as a soloist. The ensemble of Ostrovsky, Epshtein, Waterman, and Mercer has a Canadian in the midst. Rachel Mercer, cellist, received the Gold Medal from the Toronto Conservatory and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across Canada.