One of the most unique sought\-after ensembles on the concert stage today, the Carpe Diem String Quartet is an adventurous ensemble earning widespread acclaim for performances of traditional and new repertoire, genre\-bending collaborations and community engagement. The CDSQ appears regularly on traditional stages, including Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, National Gallery of Art, Chautauqua Institute, Accademia Chigiana, Suntory Hall, National Library Concert Hall and BinHai Performing Arts Center, as well as in numerous unconventional venues. CDSQ defies classification with programming and collaborations that blend new and old classical, Romani, tango, folk, pop, rock, jazz and multicultural music. The Quartet has premiered works by composers from a variety of backgrounds and traditions, including Korine Fujiwara, Jonathan Leshnoff, Reza Vali, Mark Lomax II and now Erberk Eryilmaz. The group has collaborated with a variety of artists, including Willy Porter, Raul Juarena, David Krakauer, Yo\-Yo Ma, Jayme Stone, Shannon Heaton, Jeff Midkiff, Tom Battenberg, Nicolo Spera, Yihan Chen and santoor master, Dariush Saghafi. Highly active recording artists, CDSQ has released cycles of the complete string quartets of Taneyev, Leshnoff and Smoot; two critically acclaimed albums of music by Reza Vali; two albums with Willy Porter; Bruce Wolosoff\x27s Songs without Words, Anansi and the Sky God; Quintets for Mandolin and String Quartet by Jeff Midkiff; and Montana, featuring music by composer and quartet member, Korine Fujiwara. Devoted to expanding the reach and impact of community engagement, CDSQ has been awarded six grants from the PNC Foundation. The Quartet\x27s outreach performances incorporate diverse and eclectic repertoire tailored to specific audiences, exploring lively, thought\-provoking themes to help audiences connect with chamber music. These carefully crafted performances have allowed the Quartet to reach underserved audiences, including The Apache Nation and Ohio Women\x27s Reformatory residents.\n\nTurkish\-American composer and performer Erberk Eryılmaz is recognized for bringing the energy of the folk music of his homeland to the concert stage with a creative and dramatic approach. His compositions have been performed at some of the world’s most important concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana. He was selected to participate in the 2021 Moon Arts Project, which for the first time in history will bring music to the Moon. Eryılmaz\x27 work, Was her face the moon or sunlight?, received its premiere performance at NASA, next to the Saturn V rocket, the largest in history. His compositions and performances are often heard on Turkish State Radio and on American Public Media\x27s Performance Today, and have received praise in the Washington Post, which described his music as a \x27dervish\-like explosion.\x27 As a composer, pianist, conductor and folk percussionist, Eryılmaz has collaborated with important ensembles, including the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, Houston Symphony, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Austin Camerata, Apollo Chamber Players and with the Carpe Diem, Tesla and Del Sol string quartets. He has received numerous awards, including the BNY Mellon Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement, Sallie Shepherd Perkins Prize for Best Achievement, and the Diemente Prize. In 2015, Eryılmaz and his wife Laura Krentzman established Hoppa Project, which seeks to promote music from Eastern Europe and the Middle East by performing in a wide range of styles, from folk to contemporary music. Eryılmaz earned a Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School, Master of Music and Artist Diploma from Carnegie Mellon and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Rice University. He teaches composition at the Ankara Music and Fine Arts University.