Australian String Quartet
The Australian String Quartet is a prominent Australian string quartet, which presents an annual program of chamber music throughout Australia and internationally.
Founded in 1985 the ASQ has received critical acclaim both at home and abroad for performances of a diverse range of repertoire, including world premieres of contemporary Australian works. Overseas tours take the quartet to North America, Europe and Asia.
From 2012 the ASQ has consisted of Kristian Winther – first violin, Anne Horton – second violin, Stephen King – viola, and Rachel Johnston – cello.
Previous members of the ASQ are William Hennessy, Douglas Weiland, Elinor Lea, Peter Tanfield, Natsuko Yoshimoto and James Cuddeford (violin), Keith Crellin, Esther van Stralen and Jeremy Williams (viola), and Janis Laurs, Cameron Retchford and Niall Brown (cello).
ASQ regularly features Australian guest artists and composers - recently Brett Dean, Li-Wei, Peter Sculthorpe and Graeme Koehne. Recent commissions include From Magdalena's Notebook for Elena Kats-Chernin's 50th birthday.
ASQ presents its own National Season, performing in all major Australian capital cities. In addition, ASQ has an extensive regional touring programme throughout Australia (from small mining towns, to the Northern Territory's capital, Darwin) and appears at major international festivals in Adelaide, Sydney, and Austria. It has established its own chamber music festival held annually in Dunkeld, Victoria.
The ASQ regularly broadcasts for ABC Classic FM and is quartet-in-residence at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.