Over het Alkyona Kwartet
The Alkyona Quartet present fresh imaginative interpretations of both well-known and
hidden gems of the string quartet repertoire. They are well known for their warm connection
to audiences and vivacious performances, and are ‘as vibrant and memorable as their
‘Kingfisher’ namesake’. They were Tunnell Trust Award Holders 20/21 and Making Music
Selected Artists 21/22, and have performed in many leading UK venues including St Martin in
the Fields, St John Smith Square and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as at many music societies
both at home and abroad. They were New Generation Artists at the Stift International Music
Festival 2019 and residents at Music at Brel the same year, as well as being featured at the
Huygens Festival 2020 & 2021 which were broadcasted live on Dutch TV channel Midvliet.
They look forward to a variety of engagements in the 2022/2023 season, including the
Lichfield Festival, a creative concert series at the Sir John Soane Musuem and launching the
Huygens Festival 2022.
The quartet love collaborations across the arts and this year hold a residency at Leighton
House Museum, where they have been running events, concerts and salons both online and in
person. They released their debut album, “Intimate Letters’ in June 2020 in collaboration with
Cegin Productions. As a quartet they especially enjoy cross-collaborative projects, and have
worked closely with Latin American band Quimantu, film makers, Tabla player Kuljit Bhamra
MBE, actress Saskia Reeves, percussionist Adriano Adewale, composer Caroline Heslop and
dance company the Dutch Don’t Dance Division. The quartet have studied with Richard
Lester, Marc Danel, Ben Hancox, Rafael Todes, Catherine Manson, James Boyd and Mark
Messenger. The quartet is mentored by Marc Danel of the Danel Quartet in Holland as part
of the National String Quartet Academy, and took part in the European Chamber Music
Academy 2020.
Outreach is an important part of their work and they are one of the ‘Young Professional’
quartets of Project String Quartet UK. Equally at home in education settings, the quartet
have given masterclasses and side by side performances at numerous schools including
Repton School, St Pauls Boy’s School and Ipswich School, where they led the string section
of the Festival of Music two years running.
The quartet is grateful for sponsorship for their studies and projects to the RCM Director’s
Fund; The Tunnell Trust; the Dutch National Music Instrument Foundation for the loan of
Jobine’s C.18th Lefebvre cello and the Harrison-Frank Foundation for the loan of Emma’s
1713 Venetian violin.
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