Brompton Quartet

E – Esther Park (violin), W – Wallis Power (cello), C – Christine Anderson (viola)

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

W- I’m lucky to have musicians in my family – seeing them perform and make music their career inspired me to pursue the same path. Looking back, I feel privileged that music was part of my childhood and I feel passionately that all young people should have access to live performance. 

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

W- Each new chapter of life as a musician, whether that be starting at a junior department, commencing music college or graduating, makes us consider new goals or might make us ruminate on what we haven’t achieved yet. I think coming to terms with the idea that we are always learning and evolving, no matter our age or stage of life, is so important to remember.

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

W- It was a dream for us to perform at The Wigmore Hall a few years ago, a space that somehow feels both intimidating and freeing! The acoustics are so wonderful for chamber music. Our debut album Constellations will be released later this year on Apple Music’s label, Platoon. Featuring female composers spanning almost a millennium, we are very excited to bring our first album into the world.

Which particular works/composers do you think you perform best?

E –  We perform and record a wide range of repertoire, from Barbara Strozzi and Hildegard von Bingen to works by living composers. We also recently commissioned a new quartet from Noah Max. We particularly enjoy performing Grażyna Bacewicz’s String Quartet No.3 and Jessie Montgomery’s Strum, which we often integrate into our programmes.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

W – We try to be as collaborative as possible when deciding on repertoire! We’ll usually have a meeting to brainstorm pieces on each of our wish-lists, and then curate a programme from our list that flows well. As a Quartet we like to include as much variety as we can so narrowing down our ideas can often be a challenge!

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

W- As a Quartet, some of our favourite venues have been Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and St James’s Piccadilly. Performing outside surrounded by mountains in Slovenia was also definitely a highlight from last year!

What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage?

E- Aside from quartet, each of us are also busy with our own projects. We feel that the experiences which we go through individually helps bring a fresh insight when we come back together as a group. For me personally, I find having some very close friends and mentors who I respect and trust so valuable, as I always gain inspiration and motivation from them. 

What is your most memorable concert experience?

E- We loved collaborating with violist Lawrence Power for one of his multimedia shows with production company Âme at the Purcell Room in December 2022. The project combined visual arts with choreography and live performance and it has really informed and inspired the way we approach our own concerts.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

E- We believe the concept of success is always relative and personal. 

I believe that in this profession one has to stay as positive and genuine as possible despite all the possible rejections that one might receive, especially in their early careers as a musician. As a group, if we share some special moments with the audience on stage where we are in ‘flow’ together, that certainly feels like a success!

What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?

C- Creative programming, and diversity on and off stage! This is already starting to happen but we can do even better across the industry. There’s a place for everyone in classical music and the industry hasn’t always demonstrated that. Groups like Her Ensemble, Manchester Collective, Kaleidoscope Ensemble and Aurora Orchestra are really blazing the trail with playing music by underrepresented composers, presenting concerts in new ways, and playing in non traditional venues.

What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be?

W- I feel that performance anxiety generally isn’t spoken about openly enough, or addressed at music colleges. It’s a completely normal sensation that virtually all musicians go through at some stage in their career and only shows that they care about the music and their interpretation. We should give musicians (at any stage in their career) space to be vulnerable and human – being on stage is so much more enjoyable if we’re not focusing on perfection.

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

W- That there are SO many paths to a career in music that you may not be aware of yet! Try everything when you’re studying- some things fall by the wayside and others stick. We formed our Quartet while at RCM and it was the best thing to come out of it. Take all the opportunities when you’re studying to find what you really love, and don’t be too harsh on yourself if you’re still not sure what you want to specialise in when graduation time comes. The learning continues beyond the institution!

What is your most treasured possession?

W – I’m sure I can speak on behalf of the quartet with this answer – our instruments + bows!

Brompton String Quartet are: Jordan Brooks (violin), Mee-Hyun Esther Park (piano), Christine Anderson (viola) & Wallis Power (cello)

The Quartet will open this year’s Hertfordshire Festival of Music on Saturday 7 June in a programme of music by Beethoven, Haydn and Peter Fribbins. Find out more / book tickets