Bringing bright young talent to rural audiences in Devon, Dorset and Somerset is what Concerts in the West is all about and the May concert series, featuring the brilliant and exhilarating Maxwell Quartet, will certainly blow any residual winter cobwebs away.

These four young musicians, who met while they were still students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2010, were Residency Artists for Enterprise Music Scotland 2011-2013, during which time they earned a reputation for delighting audiences during their Scottish concert tours. Reviews of their performances described them as having ‘panache and conviction (Strathearn Herald) and ‘unaffected enthusiasm’ (North Highland Times).

A packed concert diary has certainly kept the Quartet busy with an acclaimed series of the late Schubert Quartets at Perth Concert Hall in Scotland, as well as a season-long residency at St Anne’s College, Oxford. They have appeared at many festivals, too, including the Cottier Chamber Project, Lammermuir Festival, BBC Chamber Music Proms and the SOUND Festival.

The quartet comprises:

Colin Scobie (violin), who is already established as one of the most creative and compelling violinists and chamber musicians of his generation.
George Smith (violin), who founded the Maxwell Quartet, is a top class violinist who performs across the UK and further afield as a chamber musician, soloist and Scots fiddle player.
Elliott Perks (violin), who studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School, and has taken part in numerous concerts as a soloist and chamber musician, performing in top London venues such as the Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall.
Duncan Strachan (cello), began learning cello at the age of four and has since gone on to play as a soloist, performing concertos by Haydn, Schumann and Elgar.

Commenting on The Maxwell Quartet’s forthcoming performance, Concerts in the West's founder and director Catherine Maddocks (formerly Hodgson) said:

“I am delighted that Elliott Perks is joining us again following his visit in 2015 with the Perks Ensemble. This year we will have the pleasure of seeing him perform as part of the acclaimed Maxwell Quartet, an exciting combination of top class young musicians who possess enthusiasm and dynamism in equal measure. The Quartet is making its mark in the chamber music world in no uncertain terms and I look forward to introducing them to our audiences in the West Country.”

Evening recital programme:
Ravel String Quartet In F; Britten String Quartet No 2 In C Op. 36; Bartók String Quartet No 4 Sz91.
Bridport recital programme:
Haydn & Ravel

Performance and Box Office Details for the Maxwell Quartet:

Saturday 6 May 2017 7.30pm, St Michael's, Haddon Road, Shute, Devon EX13 7QR (Near Axminster - situated just along the lane next to the Gatehouse of Shute Barton Manor) Box office: concert tickets: £15 Hurfords Stores, Kilmington 01297 33203, EX13 7RG or The Archway Bookshop, Axminster EX123 5AQ. Tel: 01297 33744. Or book at Eventbrite www.eventbrite.co.uk. You can also buy on the door. Concessions for students and children. Doors open 6.45pm. Parking nearby. Interval drinks. Disabled access.