The Villiers Quartet

 Katie Stillman  Tamaki Higashi

Carmen Flores     Leo Melvin

Named after Villiers Street in London, the Villiers Quartet encompass the grand and iconic spirit of the British music tradition. They are Quartet-in-Residence at the Jacqueline Du Pre Music Centre at Oxford University, and have become recognised nationally for their performances of British Music.

They have been noted for "exquisite ensemble playing" (Seen and Heard International) and their absolute "commitment and virtuosity" (The Sunday Times) and hailed as "Champions of British Music" (The Observer). The Quartet has released critically acclaimed recordings of works by Elgar, Delius, Ethel Smyth, Peter Racine Fricker, William Sterndale Bennett, David Matthews, William Alwyn and Kuljit Bhamra MBE. In 2021 to celebrate the Villiers 10th anniversary they commissioned 6 new works from British composers.

The Villiers Quartet has presented master classes in the UK at Oxford University, Nottingham University and Dartmouth College and overseas at Syracuse University, California State University LA, Jacksonville University and Indiana University.

The Quartet has broadcast both on Radio 3 and Radio 4 and has been featured on BBC's In Tune, where in October 2022 they both performed and discussed their latest recording of the Delius and Smyth Quartets. The Delius Quartet features movements in their original versions which were uncovered and re-worked by Professor Daniel Grimley from Oxford University. They have also performed live on the BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, and were the featured quartet on the score for the BBC film Lady Chatterley's Lover.

VQ Discovery

In 2020 the Villiers developed digitally based projects including VQ Discovery a unique online course designed  to study Quartets in depth. They include instrumental sectionals, discussions on technique, a guest lecture, historic context, and a play-along finale. This project has proved to be very popular and the 2023/24 season will include the chance to study Beethoven Op. 127, Haydn Op. 76 "The Emperor", and Bartok Quartet No. 6. The Villiers  passion for performing and teaching has created a valuable on-line resource for students and audiences alike.

Alongside VQ Discovery, there is VQ Create, an on-line mentoring course for secondary school pupils wishing to explore composition for the String Quartet, and VQ Commissions a platform for the development of new works for the Quartet

For more information about the Villiers Quartet see www.villiersquartet.com