Masterclass for Quartet Concrète's Burgh House residency.

Burgh House and ChamberJoin us for the final free drop in masterclass in our Hans Keller Forum at Burgh House series, allowing audiences to witness the creative process behind chamber music performance. This last session sees Quartet Concrète working with Sini Simonen.

This event forms part of a new three-year partnership between Burgh House and Chamber Studio (https://chamberstudio.org/) funded by The Cosman Keller Art & Music Trust (https://www.cosmankellertrust.org/). Launching in October 2026, the residency programme brings together exceptional emerging chamber musicians, internationally renowned mentors and the work of artist Milein Cosman, celebrating the enduring connection between music, visual art and Hampstead's rich cultural heritage. Selected string quartets and trios will take part in a series of residencies at Burgh House, where they will reunite with leading chamber musicians for masterclasses before sharing the results of their work with audiences in intimate evening performances.

Quartet Concrète formed at the Guildhall School in 2021 and throughout their time together they have earned praise for their natural chemistry, well blended sound and colourful atmospheres.

The quartet were winners of the 2023 St James' Chamber Music Competition and have performed at venues across Europe, including the Barbican, St James' Piccadilly, Holker Hall, and Cité Musicalé Metz. In 2023, they were selected to be part of Chamber Studio’s Hans Keller Chamber Forum, receiving mentorship from John Myerscough, Alasdair Beatson and Richard Ireland in three residencies across the 2023/24 season. In summer 2024, they were a resident string quartet at the Lake District Music Summer Festival where they gave numerous recitals as well as performing alongside Trio Shaham Erez Wallfisch and the Alkyona Quartet. Whilst there, they also received coaching and masterclasses from the Brodsky and Heath Quartets.

Quartet Concrète are also keen educators themselves, andhave worked at both GYA King’s Cross and on the GSMD Summer Courses. Quartet Concrète champion the works of contemporary and young composers. As recent participants of Quatour Diotima’s “L’Académie Diotima”, they performed a new work by Arnau Gran i Romero, “À vif”, and Donnacha Dennehy’s, “The Weather of It”, at the Cité Musicale Metz. Their success on this academy has led to a future performance at the Opéra national du Rhin in April 2026. Other influential masterclasses and mentorships have included sessions with András Keller, David Waterman, Candida Thompson, Robert Levin and Johannes Meissl to name a few.

Quartet Concrète also collaborate across genres, including recording string arrangements, as well an ongoing partnership with Ballet Nights where they showcase the string quartet repertoire alongside classical and contemporary ballet. They have also worked with the NEST, and most recently collaborated on: Beethoven: I Shall Hear in Heaven, a play by Tama Matheson at Opera Holland Park 2025, working alongside Jayson Gillham as music director. The music received much critical acclaim: “Quartet Concrète delivered exquisite interpretations of Beethoven's chamber works” - London Theatre Reviews.

Amongst other music collaborations, concerts and recitals are at the core of what Quartet Concrète do. They have performed internationally, as well as across London and the UK, bringing their programmes to a wide range of audiences. Quartet Concrète also love to perform works not traditionally written for string quartet, arranged by their violist, Dominic Stokes. Recent arrangements include: Bach’s “Komm, süßerTod, komm selge Ruh” and Paul Mealor’s “Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal”, which they performed at various concerts around the UK in Summer 2025.

Anna Brown - violin

Isabella Todes - violin

Dominic Stokes - viola

Joseph Barker - cello

Free drop in's between 2pm and 5pm.

Please note: Burgh House is a small arts charity, and we rely on ticket sales to generate income and keep the House open for free. Therefore tickets for events at Burgh House are non-refundable.

Description supplied by the event organiser.