Eleva Chamber Players welcome back the DragonBoot String Quartet

January 3, 2026 | By Waterbury Roundabout 

After a welcome reception last year, the Eleva Chamber Players once again present the award-winning DragonBoot String Quartet in concert on Saturday, Jan. 17, in Waterbury. 

DragonBoot String Quartet performs with the Eleva Chamber Players in Waterbury on Jan. 17. Courtesy photo

The 3 p.m. performance will be held at the Waterbury Congregational Church, at 8 N. Main St.

The concert program will feature pieces by composers from three diverse styles, opening with Beethoven’s “String Quartet Op. 135,” followed by Pulitzer-Prize recipient Israeli-American composer Shulamit Rhan’s “Glitter Shards and Doom: That Which Happened.” The program will conclude with Janáček’s String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letter.”

Based at the Juilliard School, the DragonBoot String Quartet is comprised of remarkably accomplished musicians whose musical abilities belie their youth: violinists Cate Carson and Katya Moeller, violist Sydney Whipple (an Eleva member) and cellist Lila Holyoke. 

The quartet earned the grand prize at the Coltman Chamber Music Competition in Austin, Texas, and second prize at the St. Paul String Quartet Competition. Most recently, they participated in The Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Music Workshop, where their mentors included Donald Weilerstein, Laurie Smukler and Itzhak Perlman. Read more about DragonBoot String Quartet and its individual musicians here. 

The Eleva Chamber Players is Central Vermont’s only professional string chamber orchestra, founded in 2006 in Waterbury with the mission of elevating the human spirit through music. Eleva’s concerts feature fine musicianship along with dialogue that aims to be both educational and inspiring. The professional musicians in the conductor-less orchestra work together using a collaborative process. 

Tickets for the Jan. 17 performance are $35 for general admission, $5 for students, available in advance online or at the door. With a commitment to accessibility, Eleva Chamber Players offers a limited number of free community access tickets to enable all to attend, regardless of income. See more details online.