MONTAGUE CHORISTERS 

Since winning the Australian National Academy of Music Chamber Music Competition in their inaugural year, Affinity Quartet has established itself as one of Australia’s leading string quartets. Their international touring has included critically acclaimed performances in Europe at the Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale, Festival Les Voix Intimes Belgium, Fondazione Cini Venice, Mirabell Palace Salzburg; and in the UK at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Southbank Centre, City Music Society, and Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar.

The quartet is known for innovative programs traversing the string quartet’s diverse history, including Australian commissions, world premières by Jack Symonds, Matt Laing and Darrin Archer (AU), and Australian premières of the complete string quartets of Leos Janáček and Pavel Haas; Benjamin Britten and Sir Andrzej Panufnik. Affinity has been a featured ensemble in Melbourne’s underground classical series Play On Music, and ensemble-in-residence at Shepparton Festival, Kennedy Nolan Architects, and 75 On Reid.

In 2021 Affinity Quartet presents two Melbourne Recital Centre programs featuring premières by two Australian composers and a collaboration with London-based mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean. The quartet’s studies in Europe and the UK have included mentorships with Thomas Adès (IMS Prussia Cove), Prof. Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet), Prof. Heime Müller (Artemis Quartet), Joel Krosnick (Juilliard Quartet), John Myerscough (Doric Quartet), Isabel Charisius (Alban Berg Quartet), Oliver Wille and William Coleman (Kuss Quartet), Brodsky Quartet members, Krzysztof Chorzelski (Belcea Quartet), Richard Ireland (Chilingirian Quartet). Affinity musicians bring considerable experience from previous ensembles including Flinders Quartet, Syzygy, Momentum Ensemble, ACO Inspire Quartet, as well as holding Principal and Contract roles with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Sydney Chamber Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Australian World Orchestra.