Villiers Quartet

Vivian Fung String Quartet No.1
Shostakovich Two Pieces for String Octet
Mendelssohn String Octet in E flat

VQ Discovery Big Play Date Session - Mendelssohn String Octet

3.30-5pm, Workshop 3

Play-along Observation - Free
Play-along participation - £30

Villiers Quartet is excited to run our VQ Discovery Playdate with Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. 

This Playdate session is an in-person guided play-along session of chamber repertoire with the Villiers Quartet. 

This spring, alongside RBC’s selected string students, the VQ will lead a Playdate session featuring the iconic Mendelssohn Octet. 

This is open to string players of any age and level who would like to play through the entire work with the guidance of the VQ and have fun. 

The VQ’s marked and bowed parts will be provided in advance to anybody who signs up to participate.

It is also free for anybody who would like to observe the session. 

To take part in this event, please enquire directly at villiersquartet@gmail.com

Named after Villiers Street in London, the Villiers Quartet encompasses the grand and iconic spirit of the extraordinary music tradition in Britain and has been praised for “exquisite ensemble playing” (Seen & Heard International), and their absolute “commitment and virtuosity” (The Sunday Times). The Villiers Quartet is the Quartet-in-Residence at the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building at Oxford University.

Hailed as “Champions of British Music” (The Observer), the Villiers Quartet has become one of the most recognised quartets in the UK for the performance of British music. The VQ has released acclaimed recordings of works by Elgar, Delius, Peter Racine Fricker, William Sterndale Bennett, David Matthews, and most recently music by William Alwyn and Kuljit Bhamra, MBE. In 2020 they gave the world premiere of the complete 1888 Delius string quartet, featuring movements in their original versions uncovered by Professor Daniel Grimley from Oxford University

In 2020 the Villiers Quartet initiated new digitally-based projects including VQ Discovery: Beethoven Discovery, an online course to study Beethoven’s quartets in-depth whilst in lockdown; VQ Create, mentoring secondary school pupils online to compose new music for string quartet; and From Home: VQ Commissions, commissioning new works from six diverse British composers to celebrate the VQ’s 10th Anniversary season for 2021.

The Villiers Quartet has been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 from the Leamington International Quartet Series, and on NPO Radio 4 live from the Concertgebouw. The VQ has been featured on BBC’s In Tune and also BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show with pianist Alexis French and double bassist Leon Bosch. The VQ was the featured quartet on the score to the BBC film Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

The Villiers Quartet has presented masterclasses in the UK and abroad at Oxford University, Duke University, Dartmouth College, University of Nottingham, Syracuse University, Cal State LA, Jacksonville University, and Indiana University South Bend. Ambassadors for British chamber music, the VQ has given premieres and performances of music by British composers including Anthony Payne, Alexander Goehr, Martyn Harry, David Matthews, and Elizabeth Kelly.

The broad curiosity of the Villiers Quartet and its passion for teaching and performing have made the VQ a valuable resource for students and audiences alike. Inspiration comes from the heart of the Villiers Quartet’s philosophy: to believe in the art of string quartet.