About
Maja Horvat, Sara Wolstenholme - violins
Gary Pomeroy - viola
Christopher Murray - cello
One of the most acclaimed British string quartets, The Heath Quartet has built a strong reputation for its dynamic and committed performances.
Established at the Royal Northern College of Music, in 2013 it became the first ensemble in fifteen years to win the prestigious RPS Young Artists Award. In 2016 they won the Gramophone Chamber Award for their recording of the complete Tippett quartets and were featured performing Tippett’s Second quartet in the BBC programme Classic Quartets at the BBC.
The Tippett album was followed by two discs recorded for Harmonia Mundi/PIAS and part-funded by a BBT Special Ensemble Scholarship, featuring Tchaikovsky’s First and Third quartets (BBC Radio 3's Disc of the Week) and the complete Bartók quartets (2017 Limelight Chamber Music Award; nominated for 2018 Gramophone Chamber Award). Their recent album for Signum Records, with soprano Carolyn Sampson, brings together works by Berg, Webern and Schoenberg. With a recording of Helen Grime’s Second Quartet they contributed towards Bracing Change 2, an anthology of contemporary British string quartets on NMC which was nominated as Gramophone Editor’s Choice in 2023.
Other accolades include first prize at the 2008 TROMP competition, and the 2012 Ensemble Prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
"The Heath Quartet’s prayerful concentration really paid off in a performance of unforced beauty and tremulous tension, dappled with sudden shadows and anguished nostalgia for happier times. Each player listened closely to each other; each fell in with Schubert’s feelings as a hand fits the perfect glove." (The Times)
Recent highlights include a two-season residency at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal, their Barcelona debut in Palau de la Musica Catalana, a Beethoven series at Bath Festival, debuts at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Saffron Hall and Cheltenham Festival, as well as concerts at Handelsbeurs Ghent, Aldeburgh, and Norfolk & Norwich festivals.
Recent seasons have included a tour of the USA, a live broadcast with Steven Osborne for the BBC Proms and an appearance on BBC Radio 4's How to Play; a highly-ascclaimed programme exploring Schubert's Death and the Maiden. The quartet continued its long association with The Wigmore Hall with a four-concert series, and gave the inaugural concert at the newly renovated Brighton Dome Corn Exchange. They also performed at The British Library and were faculty members at the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme. The quartet enjoyed collaborations with, amongst others, Robert Plane, Tom Poster, Alice Neary, Helene Clement and the Elias String Quartet.
"The delicate perfection of the sound was a marvel.." (Daily Telegraph)
This season the quartet are looking forward to another tour of the USA and collaborations with hornist Ben Goldscheider and clarinettist/composer Jörg Widmann.
The Heath Quartet are staff members at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and in 2025 became String Quartet in Residence at Middlesex University.
