Astra Quartet

Mabelle Young-Eun Park violin

Olwen Miles violin

Jamie Howe viola

TBC cello

Benjamin Britten Three Divermenti

Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95 ‘Serioso’

Interval

Joseph Haydn String Quartet B minor Op. 33 No. 1

Frank Bridge String Quartet No. 4, H. 188

This concert will now feature the Astra Quartet, who will perform the advertised programme in place of the Regency Quartet, featuring Mabelle Young-Eun Park (violin), Olwen Miles (violin), Jamie Howe (viola) and cellist (TBC).

The Astra Quartet brings together four prize-winning musicians based in London. As members of the Regency Quartet (2021-April 2026), Mabelle, Olwen and Jamie were the winners of the 2025 Royal Over-Seas League String Ensembles Prize and were selected as 2025-26 Kirckman Concert Society Artists. They were mentored by Alex Redington from the Doric String Quartet and were supported by the Frost Trust Advanced Specialist Strings Ensemble Training Scheme from 2021-2024 through the Royal Academy of Music. They performed at the Wigmore Hall and gave recitals at venues including Kings Place London, St George’s Bristol and Conway Hall. They also performed at the North Norfolk Music Festival.

As members of the Regency Quartet, Mabelle, Olwen and Jamie were awarded a number of prizes at the Royal Academy of Music including the Wolfe Wolfinsohn String Quartet Prize, the Sir John Barbirolli Memorial Prize and the Historical Women Composers Prize for their rendition of Florence Price’s Piano Quintet in A minor. They participated in masterclasses with renowned musicians including Anthony Marwood, Lawrence Power, Gerhard Schulz, Isabel Charisius and Sini Simonen and received coachings from Jon Thorne, So-Ock Kim, and Simon Rowland-Jones. They also participated in the International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove in Spring 2025, studying with Kim Kashkashian and, in Summer 2025, they gave a series of concerts in France as part of the Ferrandou Musique Residency.

This concert is supported by Meta Wells-Thorpe in memory of John Wells-Thorpe.

In Association with Strings Attached