Friends joined through their love of chamber music, the Resol String Quartet formed in the Autumn of 2018 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Taking their name from the Catalan word meaning ‘reflection of sunlight’, the members of the quartet come from a great variety of backgrounds but were brought together by their shared vision to make classical music more inclusive and accessible both in the present and for the future.
In a constant pursuit for excellence, these young artists share their joy of music making and act as ambassadors for chamber music, keeping it alive in today’s society. The group feel just as at home in education settings as they do in village halls and on the concert platform and strive to blend all this work together.
In May 2021, the quartet were awarded both the First Prize, and Audience Prize in the CAVATINA Competition at the Wigmore Hall, representing the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In the same year, they made their Perth Concert Hall debut, were named as one of Chamber Music Scotland’s ‘One’s to Watch’ and were accepted to work with Live Music Now Scotland. They also appeared live on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Classics Unwrapped’. In 2022 they made their Conway Hall Debut as part of their historic ‘Sunday Concert Series’. In the same year they performed on BBC Scotland’s ‘Scotland’s People 2022’ alongside Brit Award winning artist Tom Walker. In early 2023 the quartet were privileged to step in to cover the Fitzwilliam Quartet for a performance in the York Late Music Concert Series. They also spent a week at Snape Maltings as a Britten Pears Young Artist. The week included work on and a performance of A. Bliss’ Oboe Quintet alongside Nicholas Daniel OBE.
In their time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the quartet opened the Rosin Chamber Festival, alongside the world-renowned Brodsky String Quartet. In the same year, the quartet won First Prize in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Mabel Glover String Quartet Competition and were awarded the Mary D Adams prize for chamber music. The ensemble were also invited to perform at the RCS for the last concert of their Hilary Rosin Sunday Coffee Concert Series.
The ensemble has run many of their own concert tours across the UK and Europe and continue to do so in all of their seasons. Their West of Scotland tour in November 2021 was in collaboration with classical Saxophonist Richard Scholfield and brought a varied programme of original arrangements to rural island communities. This tour was funded by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland. In 2022 the quartet were grateful to receive a large grant from the same fund to support their outreach and performance activities for the second half of their 2022/23 season. They were also awarded a grant from the Hope Scott Trust for the same season to support their activities in rural parts of Scotland.
Education is an important aspect of the quartet’s work. Their latest season saw them visit many local schools in the communities in which they performed, offering heavily or fully subsidised visits thanks to a grant awarded by Creative Scotland. In particular they have worked on several occasions with Oban High School and Worth School in West Sussex. In June 2022 they adjudicated the final of the Worth Young Musician of the Year Competition.
The quartet are about to embark on their third season which will include five exciting programs, featuring works ranging from Beethoven to Jessie Montgomery. Their season begins in September with their second collaboration with pianist Jia Ning Ng, performing Faure’s enchanting piano quintet, alongside Haydn’s famous String Quartet Op.76 No.5.
Resol Quartet have received masterclasses and coaching from: The Fitzwilliam String Quartet, Isabelle Van Keulen, Nicholas Daniel, Richard Ireland as part of Chamber Studio, Elena Urioste, Tom Poster, David Watkin, Joseph Swenson, Donald Grant, the Brodsky Quartet and Manchester Collective.
