Gildas Quartet
The Gildas Quartet has performed to critical acclaim at major venues including the Bridgewater Hall, Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall and on BBC Radio 3. Praised for their 'energy, verve and refreshing approach', their bold and explorative approach to performance has been recognised by the International Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition, Graz, where they won first prize in the Audience Engagement Award 2018.
Determined to bring the visceral experience of string quartet performance to audiences at close quarters, the Gildas will launch its immersive ‘Surround Sound Sessions’ project in Winter 2019. This series will range from short one-work ‘pop-up’ concerts in unusual settings to full-length recitals, with the audience literally in the midst of the players, in surround sound.
Equally passionate about new music and works from the quartet canon, the Gildas have collaborated with many eminent British composers. The Quartet recently commissioned Philip Cashian’s String Quartet No. 2, which was conceived to be performed alongside Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden', and was given its premiere by the Quartet at the St Magnus Festival in Orkney. The Quartet has also been privileged to work with composers including Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Colin Matthews and Michael Finnissy. They recently completed a recording of two works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad for release on the Champs Hill label.
The Quartet has given recitals at international festivals such as Cheltenham, Two Moors, Oxford Lieder and Kings Lynn, as well as touring to China and South Africa. They have frequently been featured by the Park Lane Group and are grateful for awards and support from the Arts Council, Britten Pears Foundation and the Richard Carne and Tunnell Trusts. The Quartet has collaborated with musicians such as the Brodsky Quartet, Nicholas Daniels, Robin Tritschler, Alexander Baillie, Matthew Barley and Emma Johnson, and are City Music Foundation Artists and Associate Ensemble at the Birmingham Conservatoire. They have studied with Oliver Wille, Robin Ireland and Catherine Manson, as well as having intensive coaching and masterclasses from Gabor Takacs Nagy, Richard Ireland, András Keller and Alfred Brendel among others.
The Gildas Quartet were semi-finalists at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition 2018. This year they will appear across the UK at Dartington International Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival, Stratford Music Festival and the William Alwyn Festival. Winter 2019-20 will include a tour to Graz and Vienna and an appearance at the Wigmore Hall with Joanna MacGregor and Adrian Brendel.
