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HEATHER HÖHMANN Violin
EMMA PARKER Violin
JON THORNE Viola
JONATHAN BYERS Cello

The Badke Quartet, formed in 2002, is widely recognised as one of Britain's finest young string quartets. Winners of the 5th Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition in 2007, the Badke Quartet has received widespread acclaim for its energetic and vibrant performances.

The Quartet has worked with some of the world's greatest string quartets and all four musicians are graduates of London's Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music. They regularly study with Gabor Takács-Nagy at IMS Prussia Cove and during 2006-08 they travelled once a month for a period of intensive study at the Alban Berg Quartet's chamber music class in Cologne. From 2005 to 2009 the Quartet held the Senior Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship at the RAM.

The Badke Quartet regularly performs at festivals in the UK and abroad, including the Aldeburgh and Verbier Festivals, Belfast Festival at Queen's, Chichester Festivities and the London String Quartet Week and have performed in some of the UK's most prestigious chamber music venues including the Wigmore Hall, St. George's Bristol, St. David's Hall Cardiff, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, St. John's Smith Square, and the Royal Festival Hall.

The Badke Quartet were touring Artists in Residence at Britten-Pears in Aldeburgh and returned to perform at Verbier Festival, where the four musicians were also the main coaches in the Amateur Chamber Music Week. During the summer, the Quartet performed at many festivals including Lichfield Festival, Montreux, Mecklenburg and West Cork Chamber Music Festival in Ireland.

In 2009 the Quartet made its Musikverein début in Vienna, performed with Mark Padmore in France, returned to Ireland for a Music Network Tour in the UK. The Quartet also performed twice at Wigmore Hall and at London's newest chamber music venue, Kings Place.

This season the Quartet has performed in the UK and Ireland, They have taken on another residency at Gresham College in London and at Britten-Pears in Aldeburgh. In the spring the Quartet has premiered a new work at Kings Place in London and further afield the Quartet played in Norway. In August the Quartet makes its début at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and performs in Spain.

Plans for next season include concerts in the UK, Ireland and Germany and a broadcast for BBC Radio 3.

No strangers to the airwaves, the Quartet has broadcast live on Classic FM, Lyric FM (Ireland), ABC Classic FM (Australia), the European Broadcasting Union and most recently performed live on BBC Radio 3. In the Autumn of 2009 the Quartet performed Mendelssohn’s Octet with the Brodsky Quartet on BBC Radio 3.

Believing strongly in the importance of education work, in building new audiences and making chamber music much more accessible, the Quartet performs in schools across the UK, bringing chamber music to hundreds of children in conjunction with the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust.

The Badke Quartet is most grateful to the Hattori Foundation, Musicians Benevolent Fund, Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust, Fidelio Charitable Trust, Tillett Trust and several private sponsors for their continued support.

The Quartet play on a fine set of instruments on loan from the Royal Academy of Music's Collection including two Gagliano violins, and the Segelman Stradivarius cello.

Also see : www.badkequartet.co.uk

LISTEN TO THE BADKE QUARTET LIVEPERFORMANCE AT ST.GEORGE'S HALL

LIVERPOOL

Liverpool Philharmonic :

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra : Badke Quartet 06/10/09