The Dulcinea Quartet enjoys performing in London and around the United Kingdom, programming the classical string quartet canon alongside contemporary works and commissions. The Quartet was formed in 2008 at the Royal Academy of Music. The Dulcinea Quartet has benefited from masterclasses with the Wihan, Skampa, Vanbrugh, Henschel and Chilingirian Quartets and has received coaching from eminent musicians such as Thomas Brandis, Martin Outram, Garfield Jackson, Hartmut Rohde. As participants of Chamber Studio they have been mentored by celebrated cellist Christoph Richter. The Quartet was commended for their performance of Schumann’s String Quartet No.2 in the Wolfe Wolfinsohn Quartet Prize, described as having given an “award-winning performance.” In 2014 they gave the world première of Keiko Takano’s “Cloudscapes” and the Japanese première of Chris Roe‘s “Jetez!”.
The Dulcinea Quartet is also part of ‘ANIMA’, a chamber ensemble that plays contemporary music alongside animated films. In the winter of 2014, ANIMA held an exciting concert in the Brunel Tunnel Shaft, where they performed Steve Reich’s “Different Trains” for String Quartet and live tape. As well as working closely with up and coming composers and animators, the ANIMA ensemble has recorded several scores for films including the recent award-winning documentary “Death of a Gentleman.” In addition, the members have worked individually with some of the U.K’s best known orchestras such as the LPO, RPO, BBCSSO and RLPO.
They are continuously looking for new and exciting repertoire from across the globe. The Quartet enjoys touring to Japan, showcasing programmes that combine classical European and Japanese music. In past tours this has included a commission for String Quartet and Shamisen. During their third tour in September 2016 they visited Tokyo, Aomori, Ibaraki, Hikone and Yokohama, giving recitals as well as performing in community centres, hospitals and working with young students. In November 2016 they returned to Tokyo with Trinity Laban to coach and perform Mendelssohn’s uplifting “String Octet” with students at Geidei University of the Arts.
The Quartet is thrilled at being awarded the 2016/17 Richard Carne Junior Fellowship for String Quartet at Trinity Laban.
