Richard Ireland coaches the Calathea Quartet
-
The Calathea Quartet is an emerging ensemble comprised of musicians from Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and England.
Formed in 2020 at the Royal Academy of Music, where they were coached by Levon Chilingirian and the Doric Quartet, they are currently based in London. The Calathea Quartet are Britten-Pears Young Artists for both 2022/23 and 2023/24. They have enjoyed masterclasses with Isabelle van Keulen, Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, and the Ragazze, Armida and Ardeo Quartets.
Recent highlights include a New Zealand tour in partnership with Chamber Music New Zealand and masterclasses and performances at West Cork Chamber Music Festival 2023.
Originally from New Zealand, Claudia Tarrant-Matthews completed her postgraduate study in violin performance at the Royal Academy of Music in 2022, under the tutelage of Professor György Pauk. Claudia has recently joined the second violin section of the London Philharmonic Orchestra as their newest addition, after a year of freelancing with the orchestra.
Eleanor Hill is an Australian violinist who is currently a member of Southbank Sinfonia and is currently on trial with the CBSO. She regularly tours internationally and has performed in several notable concert venues across the world. She freelances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed on the West End.
Irish violist Martha Campbell has performed at many of Ireland’s leading festivals and venues including West Cork Chamber Music Festival and the National Concert Hall. Martha regularly enjoys freelance work with orchestras including the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Irish National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.
Haydn Wynn is a cellist, string arranger and songwriter hailing from Gloucestershire, UK. His writing credits include multiple EP’s and albums as well as Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy directed by Lena Dunham. As a classical cellist he is a CBSO Career Accelerator Programme String Fellow 2023/2024.
-
Richard Ireland is one of the UK’s leading chamber musicians and has been a regular performer at London’s Wigmore Hall and at all of the major chamber music venues across Europe.
Richard has 25 years experience teaching violin at conservatoire level and many of his ex-students now hold principal positions in top orchestras and chamber ensembles across Europe. He is sought after as a performance coach by musicians at all stages of their careers.
Richard is a visiting professor for the Chamber Music in Residence series at Snape Maltings and is a guest professor at the Netherlands String Quartet Academy. Alongside his chamber music career Richard has been Guest Leader of orchestras such as the City of London Sinfonia, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Richard studied the violin with Sheila Nelson throughout his childhood, then with Yossi Zivoni, and finally with Eli Goren and Shmuel Ashkenasi, both eminent string quartet leaders. He was Teaching Assistant to Shmuel Ashkenasi in the USA for three years, Professor of Violin at the Royal Northern College of Music for thirteen years and also Professor of Chamber Music at the Royal College of Music.
In 2010 Richard founded and is now Artistic Director of ChamberStudio which provides high-level coaching and support to professional chamber groups in the early stages of their careers. In 2017 he launched a new organisation Offstage which provides ongoing mentorship for post-study performers.
In his free time, Richard is a keen mountain walker and wild camper together with his cellist wife and their 850 gram two-person tent! He was a passionate rock climber until he broke a knuckle on his left hand and was told in no uncertain terms by Yossi Zivoni, his violin teacher at the time, that he had to decide whether he wanted to be a climber or a violinist! He holds a first-class Pure Mathematics degree from the Open University which he studied part time in his 30’s. He has two children aged 27 and 25 who studied Physics and History and now both live and work in London.
In recognition of his teaching and his work creating ChamberStudio, Richard was awarded the 2014 Cobbett Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. In 2017 he was made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (Hon ARAM) for special contribution to the institution.