We invite musicians from near and far to share their musical talent with us. All are welcome!
This Wednesday we look forward to welcoming Manchester-based string quartet The Emmeline Quartet.
Lunchtime recitals are free! Donations are welcome.
The Emmeline Quartet are a Manchester-based String Quartet, named after the city’s famous suffragette; Emmeline Pankhurst. The group were formed at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2018, under the guidance of Pavel Fischer and Donald Grant.
A year on from their formation, in 2019, the group was accepted onto the Royal Northern College’s String Quartet Studio programme. This gave them the opportunity to play to many eminent musicians, such as Petr Prause, Amy Norrington, Annette Isserlis, Jan Talich, Eric Hobarth and Levon Chilingirian. They also received a variety of performance opportunities, masterclasses and were able to collaborate with a wide range of different musicians. Highlights include ‘Black Angels’ by George Crumb, Erwin Schulhoff’s ‘Concerto for String Quartet and Wind Orchestra’ with Mark Heron and the RNCM Orchestra and a performance of Mendelssohn’s ‘Octet’ together with the Elias Quartet, which was recorded and aired on ‘How to Play’ on BBC 4 in March 2020. They have also enjoyed collaborating with musicians from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Gwilym Simcock as part of New Music Manchester.
In September 2020, the Emmeline Quartet welcomed Abi Hammett, joining the group on viola. Since then, the ensemble was delighted to be accepted onto the Kings Place Chamber Studios, and are currently being mentored by David Waterman and Richard Ireland. In addition to this, the quartet has been privileged to work closely with the London Haydn Quartet, as part of Musicworks.
Recent times have seen the Emmelines perform in churches and music venues throughout the UK such as Crooked Spire Chesterfield, St. George’s Beckenham and Lake District Summer music festival, captivating audiences with performances of Janacek, Dvorak, Mendelssohn and Beethoven. In summer 2021 they took part in KammermuziekAtelier in Delft, Netherlands and were invited to the Vilaltefestival in the south of France.
The Emmeline Quartet have been generously sponsored by different organisations throughout their studies, including the Albert and Eugenie Frost Music Trust, Leverhulme Scholarship, Help Musicians UK and the Headley Trust. Between them, the quartet has performed in multiple prestigious venues, including the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cadogan Hall, Daegu Concert House, the Royal Festival Hall, Bridgewater Hall and Snape Maltings.
Having undergone some personnel changes, welcoming Roman Lytwyniw on violin the Emmelines began the year 2022 with a concert at Saddleworth Concerts Society, presenting a Russian and Eastern European themed concert, featuring Dvorak, Janacek, Borodin and two arrangements by the quartet’s cellist, Robert Wheatley. We are looking forward to February performances in Sheffield, Manchester and the Lake District.