ABOUT US
Us four.
Toronto-based Dior Quartet, formed in Fall 2018 at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, under the tutelage of Pacifica Quartet.
Winners of the prestigious 2023 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition (Silver, 2021), and Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (Broze, 2019). The ensemble proudly served as the 2021-2024 Quartet-in-Residence at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada.
Dior performed in renowned festivals and music series such as the Banff International String Quartet Festival, Music Toronto, Bravo! Vail, Mostly Modern Festival, Tippet Rise Art Center, Noe Music, Schneider Concert Series, BigLake Festival, and made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2024. Their collaborations include Orion Weiss, Stéphane Lemelin, Gryphon Trio, Rolston String Quartet, Andrew Wan, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Pouya Hamidi, Sarah Slean, Carmen Braden and Akpik Theatre.
The Quartet has received a diverse education, participating in programs such as the Britten-Pears Young Artists Program, the Banff String Quartet: Evolution, the McGill International String Quartet Academy, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar. They studied with members of the St. Lawrence, Alban Berg, Parker, JACK, Danish, Ébene, and Belcea Quartets, as well as with Scott St. John and Bryan Epperson. Meaningful mentors for the quartet include Barry Shiffman and Roman Borys.
The repertoire and projects they pursue intersect with their multicultural backgrounds and moral values, as they seek to explore the immigrant experience through art. The quartet takes their name from the French word “D’or” which means gold. It's a rare, elegant, and malleable element, precious to those who own it and often gifted to loved ones. Most importantly, gold holds the memory of the earth and absorbs the stories of the people who give it shape and form
Noa Sarid
First Violin
Noa Sarid is an Israeli violinist and chamber musician. She is the first violinist and founding member of the Dior Quartet, winner of the Concert Artist Guild, the Chesapeake (silver), and the Fischoff International Chamber Music (bronze) Competitions.
The quartet is known for its innovative blend of contemporary compositions and classical pieces, and made its debut at Carnegie Hall in 2024. Alongside her group, she participated in renowned festivals such as the Banff International String Quartet Festival, Bravo Vail, and Tippet Rise Art Center and studied with members of the Pacifica, Alban Berg, St. Lawrence, Danish, Artemis, Ébène, and Belcea Quartets.
Noa’s chamber career extends to being a member of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra and collaborating with various groups, including the Gryphon Trio, Canadian Children’s Opera Company, Art of Time, Akpik Theatre, and Kronos Quartet. Noa is also a Naxos Records artist.
In addition to her performance career, Noa is a dedicated teacher, teaching violin and viola students at the Oscar Peterson School of the Royal Conservatory and the Lane School of Music in Toronto.
Noa holds degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She recently concluded her Rebanks Fellowship (2023-2024) and three-year string quartet residency at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory. Her violin mentors include Simin Ganatra, Roi Shiloah, Jonathan Crow, and Nava Milo. She now pursues her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto.
Noa has been supported by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, the Ronen Foundation, the Lyons Scholarship, and plays on an Austrian violin generously loaned by Eyal Hofmekler.
David Baik
Second Violin
Featured on the CBC Canada's “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30", South Korean-born violinist David Baik is devoted to expressing intimate emotions through his instrument and creating a profound connection with his audience.
As a soloist, David has performed with orchestras including Sinfonia Toronto, Toronto Summer Music Festival Orchestra, Durham Chamber Orchestra, North York Symphony Orchestra, Ottawa Youth Orchestra, among others. In the 2026 season, he will tour South America as a soloist with the Canadian Virtuoso Ensemble, performing Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.
A passionate chamber musician, David has performed with esteemed artists such as Peter Bruns, Helene Clement, Dover Quartet, Charles Richard Hamelin, Jennifer Koh, Andrew Wan, Desmond Hoebig, and Jonathan Crow. Additionally, his former string quartet has garnered acclaim, earning multiple awards, including the 2024 Schiermonnikoog Festival Audience Award and the Grand Prize at the 2023 McGill Chamber Music Competition. In 2024, the quartet toured extensively across the Netherlands, with performances in Eelde, Rhenen, Dalfsen, and Schiermonnikoog.
David obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto, where he studied with Jonathan Crow, and continued his training at the Schulich School of Music under Andrew Wan as a fellowship recipient. For the 2024/25 season, he was a member of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Residency Program at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has made appearances at the Geneva International String Academy, Toronto Summer Music festival, Schiermonnikoog Festival, Netherlands String Quartet Academy, McGill International String Quartet Academy, and the Trondheim String Quartet Academy.
He performs on the 1871 J.B. Vuillaume ('Messiah' Stradivari) violin, generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Ronen Shifron
Viola
Violist Ronen Shifron, a member of the Dior Quartet, is a renowned chamber musician and soloist and First Prize winner at the International Anton Rubinstein Competition in Düsseldorf.
Ronen performed in festivals such as Mas Musici, Gezeitenkonzerte, and Brücken and collaborated with celebrated artists including Tatjana Masurenko, Peter Bruns, Erich Höbarth, Giovanni Gnocchi, and Chouchane Siranossian.
Featured on German and Israeli radio, he has recorded works by Max Reger and has appeared as a soloist in Hindemith's Der Schwanendreher in Leipzig under the direction of Matthias Foremny. His career includes performing with leading orchestras in Germany.
As an educator, Ronen held teaching positions at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre and at the Haute École de Musique (HEMU) in Sion, Switzerland, where he served as assistant to Tatjana Masurenko. He has given masterclasses at music institutions throughout Germany.
Israeli-born, Ronen holds a Bachelor's degree with distinction from Tel Aviv University's Buchmann-Mehta School of Music under the tutelage of Lilach Levanon, and a Master's degree and postgraduate soloist diploma with highest honours from the University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig under Tatjana Masurenko. Masterclasses include Jean Sulem, Thomas Riebl, Garth Knox, Martin Outram, Françoise Gneri, and Atar Arad. Ronen was supported by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. He plays on a viola made by Jürgen Manthey.
Joanne Yesol Choi
Cello
Korean-Canadian cellist Joanne Yesol Choi, recipient of the Canada Council’s 2025 Virginia Parker Prize and named one of CBC’s 30 Under 30 Canadian Musicians, is a distinguished artist in the chamber music world. She is a founding member of the Dior Quartet, an ensemble praised for its artistic depth and cultural diversity. The quartet has won the 2023 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and performed at major venues including Carnegie Hall, Koerner Hall, Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall, Bravo! Vail, Tippet Rise Art Center, and the Banff International String Quartet Festival.The group has also competed at the Banff and Melbourne International String Quartet Competitions.
Beyond performance, Joanne is deeply committed to mentorship and access. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Solegio Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to making high-level music education more accessible. Joanne has served as a guest lecturer at Stanford University and the University of Toronto, and was on faculty at the PRIZM International Chamber Music Festival. She has coached at the Phil and Eli Taylor Academy and Oscar Peterson School, and served as an adjudicator for the 2025 Kiwanis Music Festival and the 2023 Don Banks Music Awards.
She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and was a Rebanks Fellow at the RCM in 2021.
Outside of music, she debuted as a children’s book author with Blob the Colorful Star, and appeared in Netflix’s Bet as a special skills actor. She currently works with Music Toronto as their social media manager and correspondent.