Aquarelle Guitar Quartet

Michael Baker
Vasilis Bessas
James Jervis
Rory Russell

As one of Britain's leading chamber music groups, the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet is a dynamic and innovative ensemble that captivates audiences with eclectic repertoire and spell - binding performances.

Described as the "Next big thing making its arrival in the classical guitar world", Aquarelle have performed extensively in major venues including the Wigmore Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Bridgewater Hall. Their performances have taken them throughout Europe, most recently visiting Germany, Greece and Ireland. The quartet are responsible for the re-emergence of two great concertos, regularly appearing with orchestras throughout Britian for performances of Rodrigo's Concierto Andaluz and Torroba's Concierto Iberico for four guitars. They have performed at the Last Night of the Proms and have given live broadcasts on Radio 3, Lyric FM and ERA 3, and in 2007 became the only guitar quartet to have ever performed in the finals of the Royal Overseas League and Young Concert Artists Trust (YCAT) Competitions.

Following their formation at the Royal Northern College of Music, the AGQ have studied with renowned guitarists Sergio Assad, Oscar Ghilia and Scott Tennant. Since then, their ground breaking work in developing the guitar quartet medium has earned them awards from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, the Tillett Trust, and saw them become principal winners of the prestigious Tunnell Trust competition.

In their programmes, the AGQ are dedicated to presenting music from around the globe that spans from the renaissance to the present day. They have been sent works to perform by established international composers including Carlos Rafael Rivera (U.S.A), Phillip Houghton (Australia), Stephen Dodgson (U.K), and have recently commissioned a new work from the young and vibrant Brazilian composer Clarice Assad. The group are constantly expanding their repertoire with their own arrangements from various musical genres, including works by Gismonti, Mussorgsky, Rossini, and film music composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

In addition to their mainstream concerts, the AGQ have been involved in many outreach and educational projects. For a number of years they performed on the Live Music Now! young artists scheme, founded by Lord Menuhin, and they have given masterclasses in numerous specialist music institutions.

Aquarelle's recordings include their debut CD Promenade, released in May 2005 and Watersmeet, a collaborative CD of Stephen Dodgson's guitar music, released on the Cadenza label in March 2006 .

www.aquarellegq.com