Drake University is proud to present the Ivalas Quartet as part of the Edwin Earle Ferguson Event Series on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.
The program highlights a dynamic mix of classic and contemporary works, culminating in Johannes Brahms’s magnificent Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34, featuring Drake piano professor Nicholas Roth.
As community outreach is at the core of this ensemble’s mission, students and community members will have the opportunity to interact with the Ivalas Quartet by way of chamber music coaching or Q&A during their visit to campus. The concert holds special significance for the Drake community, as first violinist Reuben Kebede is an alumnus of the Drake University Music Program.
Honoring the Legacy of Edwin Earle Ferguson
This performance is made possible through the generosity of the late Edwin Earle Ferguson. Ferguson earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from Drake while working as a pianist at the Hotel Fort Des Moines, Younkers Tea Room, and WHO Radio during the Great Depression. His passion for music persisted throughout a distinguished legal career, which included 17 years as deputy general counsel for the Atomic Energy Commission.
About the Ivalas Quartet
Hailed by The Strad for playing with “tremendous heart and beauty,” the Ivalas Quartet has been redefining classical music since its inception in 2017. Dedicated to expanding the standard repertoire, the ensemble champions the works of past and present BIPOC composers, including Eleanor Alberga, Gabriela Lena Frank, Osvaldo Golijov, Jessie Montgomery, Angélica Negrón, Iván Enrique Rodríguez, Carlos Simon, Alvin Singleton, Derrick Skye, and George Walker.
The quartet premiered Derrick Skye’s commissioned work Deliverance at the Caramoor Center for the Arts in 2024, releasing its official audio and video recording in June 2026 on the Artistician Inc label. In 2021, they recorded Carlos Simon’s Warmth from Other Suns for Lara Downes’ Rising Sun Music label.
The ensemble’s extensive performance history includes:
Featured Venues: Carnegie Hall (“First Light” and “Fate and Yearning” programs), Lincoln Center, Peoples’ Symphony Concerts, Shriver Hall, Mondavi Center, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Residencies & Fellowships: Inaugural Resident Chamber Ensemble at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival (2025), Schneider Concerts Curator/Performing Ensemble (2024–2025), Graduate Resident String Quartet at The Juilliard School (2022–2024), and Ensemble in Residence for the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers Program (2025–2026).
Awards: Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant (2023), Grand Prize at the Coltman Chamber Music Competition (2022), and First Prize at the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition (2019).
Composed of violinists Reuben Kebede and Adeline Baban, violist Marcus Stevenson, and cellist Pedro Sánchez, the Ivalas Quartet maintains a shared dedication to music education. They have coached students across the country through residencies at the University of Michigan’s Center Stage Strings, Madeline Island Chamber Music, the MacPhail Center for Music, and the Juilliard School’s preparatory and undergraduate divisions.
For more information regarding the concert and surrounding events, contact Nicholas Roth at nicholas.roth@drake.edu.