United Kingdom

"The great thing is that MICMC is enabling all these groups to travel to Melbourne from across the globe, which means that we’ll all meet a much wider audience this summer than we otherwise might have done. Nobody can predict the future, but it is lovely to feel like we have connected to more people, and of course we hope that we will be able to come back some day."  Kay Steven, viola

The Gildas Quartet have performed to critical acclaim at major venues including Wigmore Hall and on BBC Radio 3. Praised for their 'energy, verve, and refreshing approach', they are establishing themselves as one of the most vibrant ensembles to emerge from the UK in recent years.

Equally passionate about new music and works from the quartet canon, the Gildas have a concert series called ‘First Nights, Last Rites’ in which they commission pieces to be partnered with late, well-loved quartets. For the first instalment, a new piece by Philip Cashian was conceived alongside Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’, receiving its première at the St Magnus Festival in 2017. They have also had the privilege of working with composers including Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Colin Matthews, and Howard Skempton, and have recently completed a debut recording of two works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad to be included in a disc of the composer’s music for the Champs Hill label.

The Quartet are City Music Foundation Artists and recently finished their tenure as Junior Fellows at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where they will be graduating to Associate Ensemble. They have frequently been featured by the Park Lane Group young artists scheme and are grateful for awards and support from the Tunnell Trust and the Royal Northern College of Music. They are keen collaborators and in the past year have joined musicians such as Alexander Baillie, Robin Tritschler, and Matthew Barley. Future highlights include performances with oboist Nicholas Daniel, soprano Rafaela Papdakis, and clarinetist Jack McNeill.

Gildas Quartet members

Christopher Michael Jones - 1st Violin
Gemma Ruth Bleiman Sharples - 2nd Violin
Kay Stephen - Viola
Anna Catherine Menzies - Cello

Round One

HAYDN String Quartet, op 76 no 2 ‘Fifths'
BRITTEN String Quartet op 94 no 3 

Round Two

HARRISON Balderdash
FRANCES-HOAD My Day in Hell
RAVEL String Quartet