The Quartet

Internationally acclaimed for its ‘addictive sound’, ‘intuitive’ music making and ‘technical virtuosity’, the Tinalley String Quartet has established itself as one of Australia’s finest string quartets. 

In Australia, the Quartet has appeared at the nation’s premier festivals including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Canberra International Music Festival, the Perth International Arts Festival, the Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival, the Huntington Festival, the Port Fairy Festival and the Coriole Festival.

Internationally, the Quartet has appeared in such prestigious venues as the Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Bremen Die Glocke and the Frankfurt AlteOper. International highlights have included performances in New York, Paris, London, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco and San Diego.

Formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 the Tinalley String Quartet was awarded the Grand Prize at the 2005 Australian Chamber Music Competition and First Prize at the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2007. 

In addition to performing the great masterpieces of the quartet repertory, the Quartet has a passion for collaborating with artists outside of the classical sphere. Such projects have included appearances at the Perth International Arts Festival with UK jazz pianist Gwilym Simcock and ‘Beethoven’s Letters’, a musical narrative that interweaves the quartets of Beethoven with his own writings, with acclaimed Australian actors John Bell and John Stanton. In 2018, the Quartet has commissioned the reimagining of the orchestral song cycle ‘Compassion’ by Nigel Westlake and singer/songwriter Lior for chamber septet and voice. 

In recent years, the Quartet has recorded the quartets of Haydn, Ravel, Debussy and Mendelssohn for DECCA Australia and ABC Classic, and was Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Queensland between 2017 – 2019.  

The Tinalley String Quartet is named after the laneway that runs through The University of Melbourne Parkville Campus where the Quartet formed.

The Quartet is honoured by the Vice Regal Patronage of His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.