Arts Global

In July 2010 the Finzi Quartet won the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation's International Competition, for which the prize every two years is membership of the Foundation's Artists' Roster and the use of the Foundation's unique matched set of string quartet instruments, The Evangelists.

First Prize Winners in the 2010 Royal Over Seas League Competition, the Finzi Quartet was formed under the guidance of Dr Christopher Rowland at the Royal Northern College of Music. Having been selected by the Tillett Trust and the Park Lane Group, the 2009-2010 season saw the Quartet’s debut at both the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room to critical acclaim.

Winner of 2nd Prize in the 5th Trondheim International String Quartet Competition in Norway last Autumn, the Quartet is also a recipient of the 2008-2009 Tunnell Trust Award and as a result undertook a concert tour of Scotland in November last year. Following visits to the Britten-Pears International Academy of String Quartets the Quartet has been invited back for its second Aldeburgh Residency in 2011.

The Quartet was awarded a full scholarship from the Albeniz Foundation enabling them to spend two years in the chamber music class of Gunter Pichler at the Instituto Internacional de Musica de Camera de Madrid. It has also benefited from tuition at IMS Pruissa Cove with Andras Keller, the London String Quartet Foundation with Christoph Richter and Andrew Watkinson, and masterclasses with Gabor Takacs, Thomas Riebl, Thomas Kemp, Alasdair Tait, Isabel Charisius, Valentin Erben and Heime Muller.

The Quartet is passionate about outreach work and has recently begun working with Live Music Now and the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust giving concerts around the UK and in London.

Following its appointment as Bulldog Junior Fellows at Trinity College of Music for 2009-2010, the Quartet has been awarded a Junior Fellowship at the Royal Northern College of Music for 2010-2011.

Future projects include a recording of Sir John Tavener’s Towards Silence, a concert for the Patrons of Lake District Summer Music in their New Generation Artists Series and numerous festival engagements including the Brighton, Cambridge and Oundle Festivals.

Having a strong desire to promote the music of British composers, the Quartet feels extremely honoured that the Finzi Trust supports its use of Gerald Finzi’s name.

For additional information, please visit the Quartet's personal website, www.finziquartet.com.