The Barbirolli Quartet is known for its diverse, prolific repertoire and dynamic approach to performance. The Times described them as “forthright, full-blooded musicians, afraid of nothing” and The Strad hailed their “superbly realised performance” and “precision of ensemble at formidable rates of energy”.

 

Following their selection by the European Concert Halls Organisation (ECHO) as the UK Concert Halls’ nominated ‘Rising Stars’, the Barbirolli Quartet undertook the first leg of their tour of Europe’s leading concert halls earlier this year, comprising performances in Birmingham Town Hall, Paris Cité de la Musique, Barcelona L'Auditori Chamber Music Hall, Luxembourg Philharmonie Salle de Musique de Chambre, Vienna Konzerthaus, Salzburg International Stiftung Mozarteum and Athens Megaron Concert Hall. The next stage took them to Stockholm, Cologne, Brussels, Amsterdam and Hamburg and the quartet gave their last performance of the tour in Baden-Baden in June 2010, shortly after their Kirckman Concert Society Award recital at the Wigmore Hall. 

 

The Barbirolli Quartet’s previous achievements have included winning a Tunnell Trust Award and being chosen for the Countess of Munster Musical Trust Recital Scheme. Their engagements have included Wigmore Hall, St. David's Hall Cardiff, Harrogate International Festival, Manchester Mid-day in Bridgewater Hall, St James's Piccadilly and St John’s, Smith Square. Following their highly successful appearance at the Cheltenham Festival in 2008, the quartet returned in 2009 with a collaborative performance alongside the Australian String Quartet, filmed live and now commercially available through Plush Music. They also appeared at the Lichfield, Buxton and Ryedale Festivals and taught and performed at the Dartington International Summer School. Through the support of the Royal Over-Seas League, they performed in the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and toured Singapore, New Zealand and Australia, giving concerts and adjudicating the Pettman/ROSL Arts International Scholarship.

 

The Barbirolli Quartet collaborate with eminent pianists in an ongoing cycle of Piano Quintets, covering the major works of Dvorak, Brahms, Schumann and Elgar, and perform the Brahms Quintet with Stephen Kovacevich when they return to Dartington this summer. They have also been joined by David Campbell and Timothy Orpen for performances of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet.

 

The quartet has a keen interest in performing new music and in January 2008 made their Purcell Room debut as Park Lane Group Artists to critical acclaim. They regularly work in conjunction with new composers and recent premieres include 'Folk Music' by Joe Cutler and ‘From listening to trees’ by Emily Hall.

 

Formed in 2003 at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the Barbirolli Quartet brings together a wealth of experience, its founding members each having performed widely in their native countries of Canada, Wales and Australia before coming to England to continue their studies. The Barbirolli Quartet has been awarded a Chamber Music Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Music, for the academic year 10-11, and in the summer of 2010 they studied with Gábor Takács-Nagy at the Verbier Festival Academy in Switzerland. They have worked with Eberhard Feltz and Walter Levin as part of the ProQuartet-CEMC professional training program training program, and with Erich Höbarth and András Schiff at IMS Prussia Cove. The quartet was previously awarded Artists Fellowships at London’s Guildhall School of Music 2008-2010, where they studied primarily with The Belcea Quartet and Alasdair Tait.

 

The Barbirolli Quartet is very grateful to the Richard Carne Trust for its generous support and also to the University of Salford, where they give regular performances in the Tuesday Midday Recitals at Peel Hall as the university's Quartet in Residence. 
  

Rakhi Singh (violin) was born in Wales but is now based in London. At the age of fourteen she won the Audi Junior Musician of the Year, performing the Bruch Violin Concerto no. 1 with the London Philharmonic in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which was broadcast live on Classic fm. Since then she has won numerous awards including the Texaco Young Musician of Wales, Bryn Terfel Scholarship, the Prince of Wales Award and Arts and Humanities Research Council Award. Aside from chamber music she performs regularly with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (as guest co-leader) and The Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Recent collaborations include touring with Take That and a piece for two dancers and solo violin for the National Dance Company of Wales.

Katie Stillman (violin) was chosen for the Tillett Trust’s Young Artists’ Platform in 2005 and in 2006 was awarded the Maisie Lewis Award from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. She was prize-winner at the International Stepping Stones Competition the same year. Engagements have included a lunchtime recital for the Manchester Mid-day series at Bridgewater Hall, her Purcell Room debut as part of the Park Lane Group ‘Young Artists’ New Year Series 2007, a concerto performance with the London Mozart Players and recitals at St. John’s Smith Square, St. James's Piccadilly, St George’s Bristol and Wigmore Hall. 

Ella Brinch (viola) has received numerous awards and scholarships both in Australia and England. She has performed with many orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Philharmonia. Ella has been in high demand as a chamber musician appearing in various ensembles with artists such as Sakari Oramo, Alina Pogostkina and Peter Donohoe.

Ashok Klouda (cello) was winner of the 2006 J. & A. Beare Solo Bach Competition and the 2007 Royal College of Music Cello Competition, and made his solo Wigmore Hall debut in 09-10, having won the Worshipful Company of Musicians/Concordia Foundation Young Artists Fund competition. He is also a Tunnell Trust Award winner, with duo partner Joseph Middleton, and will tour Scotland in 10-11. Ashok has studied under some of the world’s finest teachers including Colin Carr, Jérôme Pernoo and Louise Hopkins at the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music and Hochschule der Künste Bern.