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GUILDHALL SCHOOL

Chamber Music Festival

20–22 March 2026

Artistic Directors

Matthew Jones

Joy Farrall

Sam Armstrong

Ursula Smith

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Chamber Festival Administrator

Henrietta Hill

Select Programme:

Rush Hour Concert: Elmore Quartet & Vista Quartet
Friday 20 March, 6pm
Milton Court Concert Hall

Collaborative Chamber Concert
Friday 20 March, 7.30pm
Milton Court Concert Hall

Student Showcase
Saturday 21 March, 7.30pm
Silk Street Music Hall

Chamber Music Masterclass with Matthew Jones
Sunday 22 March, 11am
Silk Street Lecture Recital Room

Sunday Afternoon Concert: Pärt, Mozart, Bridge & Vierne
Sunday 22 March, 2.30pm
Milton Court Concert Hall

Festival Finale
Sunday 22 March, 7pm
Milton Court Concert Hall

Rush Hour Concert:
Elmore Quartet & Vista Quartet

Friday 20 March, 6pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
Free, no ticket required

Richard Strauss

String Sextet from Capriccio Op 85

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Elmore Quartet:

Xander Croft | violin

Miles Ames | violin

Inis Oírr Asano | viola

Gabriel Francis-Dehqani | cello

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Shane Quinn | viola

Paul Watkins^ | cello

 

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Heinrich Baermann

‘Adagio’ from Clarinet Quintet No 3, Op 23

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Andrew Marriner* | clarinet

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Vista Quartet:

Jaewon Wee | violin

Hyein Koo | violin

Ayano Nakamura | viola

Vesper Park | cello

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Felix Mendelssohn

String Octet, Op 20

I. Allegro moderato con fuoco
II. Andante
III. Scherzo. Allegro leggierissimo
IV. Presto

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Elmore Quartet

Vista Quartet

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*Guildhall School Chamber Professor

^Yale School of Music Professor

image of the Elmore quartet in front of a white wall. They are all wearing black and holding their instruments.

Photo © IOA Photography

Elmore Quartet
Guildhall School Hans Keller Fellows

Winners of the 74th Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition, the Elmore Quartet is a young British quartet based in London. They currently hold the position of Hans Keller Chamber Fellows at Guildhall School, following a Fellowship position at the Royal Northern College of Music where they taught chamber music to Undergraduate and Postgraduate students.

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Over the past two years, the Elmore Quartet have recorded multiple times for BBC Radio 3 and performed at esteemed venues throughout the UK and Europe, including Wigmore Hall, Kings Place London, Brighton Dome and Bridgewater Hall. In 2024, they were awarded Third Prize at the 13th edition of the Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

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Their successes include awards from the Tunnell Trust and the Kirckman Concert Society Award, opportunities which brought the Quartet to audiences across the UK, including the beautiful Scottish Highlands. Most recently, they joined the prestigious network of Italy's Le Dimore del Quartetto upon invitation.

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In 2024, the Elmores were selected as Penzance MusicAbility Foundation’s first resident String Quartet in partnership with the Frost Trust. This three-year position allows the Quartet to integrate themselves into West Cornwall’s unique community by performing regularly as part of the Concerts Penzance concert series, working with local schools, and utilising their passion for sharing classical music with new audiences.​

black and white image of the Vista quartet posing in a stairwell

Vista Quartet
Yale School of Music

Formed in 2025 at the Yale School of Music, the Vista Quartet is a New Haven-based string quartet actively performing in New York and beyond. The ensemble has appeared at venues including Morse Recital Hall and Roulette Intermedium, where they have been recognised for their refined ensemble playing and thoughtful musical dialogue. The quartet has worked closely with the Pacifica Quartet and violinist Ani Kavafian in masterclasses, shaping their interpretive depth and collaborative clarity. They are currently coached by Paul Watkins – cellist of the Emerson Quartet, conductor and Professor at the Yale School of Music – under whose guidance the ensemble continues to develop a distinct artistic voice.

 

The name Vista Quartet was inspired by their selection for the Yale School of Music’s Vista Series during the 2025 season, reflecting the ensemble’s forward-looking vision and commitment to exploring new musical perspectives. In the 2026 season, the Vista Quartet looks forward to an active schedule of performances in New York and across Europe.

Collaborative Chamber Concert

Friday 20 March, 7.30pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
£10 (£5 concessions)

Arnold Bax

Elegiac Trio

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Molly Gribbon | flute

Matthew Jones* | viola

Eleanor Medcalf | harp

 

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Anton Bruckner

‘Adagio’ from String Quintet in F major

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Levon Chilingirian* | violin

Elise Wiesinger | violin

Declan Wicks | viola

Charlie Potts | viola

William Lui | cello

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Bohuslav Martinů

Nonet, No 2

I. Poco allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegretto

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Rachel Howie | flute

Fraser MacAulay* | oboe

Margot Maurel | clarinet

Ping-Wei Wu | horn

Helen Storey* | bassoon

Caroline Durham | violin

Sean (Hui Pang) Lee | viola

Sophie Naden-Johns | cello

Aarón Aguayo Juárez | double bass

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INTERVAL

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Johannes Brahms

Piano Quintet, Op 34

I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante, un poco Adagio
III. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio
IV. Finale. Poco sostenuto – Allegro non troppo

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Caroline Palmer* | piano

Bartosz Woroch* | violin

Giulia Pianini Mazzucchetti | violin

Mat Lee | viola

Kosta Popović | cello

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*Guildhall School Chamber Professor

Student Showcase

Saturday 21 March, 7.30pm
Silk Street Music Hall
Free, no ticket required

Gordon Jacob

Suite for four trombones

I. Intrada

IV. Spirituale

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Richard Bissill

The House of Dr De’ath

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The Herd Quartet:

Sam Cox | trombone

George Good | trombone

Helena Keiser | trombone

Benjamin Loska | trombone

 

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Antonín DvoÅ™ák

Piano Trio No 3 in F minor, Op 65

​I. Allegro ma non troppo

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Albero Piano Trio:

Kayla Nicol | violin

Josh Lucas | cello

Owen Lee | piano

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Valerie Coleman

Umoja: Anthem of Unity

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Amy Beach

Pastorale for woodwind quintet, Op 151

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Óscar Navarro

Juego de ladrones (mvt IV)

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St Paul’s Players:

Laura Jastrzebska | flute

Laura Ritchie | oboe

Sofia Mekhonoshina | clarinet

Ping-Wei Wu | horn

Lucy Powell Davies | bassoon

 

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Felix Mendelssohn

String Quartet No 5, Op 44 No 3​

I. Allegro vivace  
IV. Molto allegro con fuoco   

 

Šuma Quartet:

Kasia Ren | violin

Pavla Bedrichova | violin

Connor Quigley | viola

Gabriel Webb | cello

Chamber Music Masterclass with Matthew Jones

Sunday 22 March, 11am
Silk Street Lecture Recital Room
Free, no ticket required

11am | Central Foundation Boys School

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Arnold Schoenberg

String Quartet No 2, Op 10

I. Mäßig

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Elliot Tuveno | violin

Nathan Short | violin
Daniel Lahuk | viola
Yves Vann | cello

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11.35 am | Alleyn’s School

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Robert Schumann

Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op 47

I. Sostenuto assai – Allegro ma non troppo

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Eric Park | violin
Gianna Cheung | viola
Sienna Nicholls | cello
Alex Hay | piano

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12.10pm | Sheffield Music Academy

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Zoltán Kodály

Intermezzo for string trio

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Jasmine Bayley | violin
Yvette Tagoe | viola
Perris Heath | cello

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12.45pm | Dulwich College

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Alexander Borodin

String Quartet No 2 in D major

III. Nocturne

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Taylor Lai | violin

Kenneth Lai | violin
Orfeas Karavas | viola
Vivek Kukreja | cello

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1.20pm | Poole Society for Young Musicians Camerata

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Johannes Brahms

String Sextet No 1 in B-flat major, Op 18

I. Allegro ma non troppo

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Oliver Harford | violin

Jacob McCulloch | violin
Sancha Haley | viola

Isaac Robjohns | viola
Lena Shum | cello

Ellen Davis | cello

image of Matthew Jones playing the viola

Matthew Jones

Welsh violist and violinist Matthew Jones is Head of Chamber Music and Professor of Viola at Guildhall School. He gave a critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in 2008, and has recorded 28 solo and chamber CDs, including multi award-winning Britten: Reflections with pianist Annabel Thwaite, streamed more than 4.5 million times; a fully improvised disc with Ensemble MidtVest and Grammy-winning jazz pianist Carsten Dahl; collaborative discs with the Danish String Quartet; the premiere recording of Robert Spearing’s Violin Concerto Electric with the Britten Sinfonia and recently a disc of his own chamber compositions. Matthew studied with Rivka Golani.

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Matthew’s unique pedagogical approach (inspired by his university studies of mathematics and teacher training in Alexander Technique, Kundalini Yoga/Meditation and performance psychology) has led to great demand for his teaching; his masterclasses and workshops on enhancing performance have reached tens of thousands of musicians around the world.  He has given individual performance wellness coaching to renowned soloists and conductors, and even a world champion athlete!

 

He was a member of the Badke Quartet when they won the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition; chamber groups he has mentored have won the Trondheim, Banff, Bordeaux and Borciani International Competitions.

Sunday Afternoon Concert: Pärt, Mozart, Bridge & Vierne

Sunday 22 March, 2.30pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
£10 (£5 concessions)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

String Quartet No 22 in B-flat major, K589

I. Allegro

II. Larghetto

III. Menuetto moderato and Trio

IV. Allegro assai

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Krysia Osostowicz* | violin

Ola Lenkiewicz | violin

Joshua Law | viola

Anoukia Nistor | cello

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Frank Bridge

Phantasy for piano quartet, H94

I. Andante con moto
II. Allegro vivace
III. Andante con moto

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Elisabeth Tsai | piano

Elena Toledo | violin

Isobel Neary-Adams | viola

David Waterman* | cello

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INTERVAL

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Arvo Pärt

Fratres

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Laura Ritchie | oboe

Elizabeth Loboda | oboe

Joy Farrall* | clarinet

Sofia Mekhonoshina | clarinet

Lucy Powell Davies | bassoon

Miriam Alperovich | bassoon

Sam Warburton | horn

Amelia Lawson | horn

Richard Benjafield* | percussion

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Louis Vierne

Piano Quintet, Op 42

I. Poco lento

II. Larghetto sostenuto

III. Maestoso – Agitato – Allegro molto risoluto

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Sam Armstrong* | piano

George Lawson | violin

Helena Thomas | violin

Rebekah Dickinson | viola

Ursula Smith* | cello

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*Guildhall School Chamber Professor

Festival Finale

Sunday 22 March, 7pm
Milton Court Concert Hall
£10 (£5 concessions)

Dmitri Shostakovich

Piano Trio No 1, Op 8


Mark Zang | piano

Yuno Akiyama | violin

Chris Murray* | cello

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Albert Roussel

Trio for flute, viola and cello, Op 40

I. Allegro grazioso

II. Andante

III. Allegro non troppo


Philippa Davies* | flute

Emily Clark | viola

Caleb Curtis | cello

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Johan Svendsen

‘Andante’ from String Octet, Op 3


Oscar Perks* | violin

Malena Benavent | violin

Sophia Kannathasan | violin

Lichen Cai | violin
Sarah-Jane Bradley* | viola

Jake Montgomery-Smith | viola
George Wilkes | cello

Rowena Taylor | cello

 

INTERVAL


Amy Beach

Piano Quintet, Op 67

I. Adagio – Allegro moderato
II. Adagio espressivo
III. Allegro agitato – Adagio come prima – Presto


Carole Presland* | piano
Lewis Lee | violin

Michelle Kolesnikov | violin
Gary Pomeroy* | viola
Seth Collin | cello

Forthcoming Events

Chamber at Six
21 April 2026
Milton Court Concert Hall

 

Guildhall chamber ensembles perform a varied programme as part of our ‘at six’ series. 

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Free, no tickets required

 

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The Gold Medal 2026
30 April 2026
Barbican Hall

 

The final of Guildhall School’s most prestigious music prize returns to the Barbican Hall, presenting three outstanding instrumentalists in concerto performances with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra, conducted by alumnus Jonathan Bloxham.

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Tickets: £14–£25 (£12 concessions) 

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Guitar Concert
21 May 2026
Silk Street Lecture Recital Room

 

Guildhall guitar students perform solo and chamber repertoire in a programme that showcases emerging artistry and a wide range of musical styles. 

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Free, no tickets required

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Photo © David Monteith-Hodge

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

Founded in 1880 by the City of London Corporation

Chair of the Board of Governors

The Hon. Emily Benn

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Principal

Professor Jonathan Vaughan FGS

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Vice-Principal & Director of Music

Armin Zanner​ FGS

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