Internationally acclaimed for its ‘addictive sound’, ‘intuitive’ music making and ‘technical virtuosity’, the Tinalley String Quartet (Adam Chalabi, Lerida Delbridge, Justin Williams and Patrick Murphy) has established itself as one of Australia’s finest string quartets and most awarded classical music exports.
The Quartet was awarded the Grand Prize of the 2005 Australian Chamber Music Competition, and captured the world’s attention in 2007 when it was awarded First Prize at the prestigious 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition. The Quartet has performed throughout Australia, Europe, Canada and United States, appearing in such prestigious venues as the Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Konzerthaus, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Bremen Die Glocke, Frankfurt AlteOper and the Sydney Opera House. International highlights have included performances in New York, Paris, London, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco and San Diego. The Quartet remains the only Australian ensemble to have been presented in the preeminent Berlin Konzerthaus International String Quartet Series and the Jeunesse Musik Erleben Series at the Musikverein.
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.
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.
The Tinalley String Quartet is named after the laneway that runs through The University of Melbourne Parkville Campus where the Quartet formed.