THE Stanford Quartet were joined by a younger aspiring group of musicians for a performance in Swanage last weekend.

It was held at the United Reformed Church on Saturday, October 11, as organised by Purbeck Strings, a charity which aims to make music accessible for all.

Max Stanford from the Quartet said that it was one of their best events.

“There was a new young quartet who had never played together before. When they started, they were not aware of playing out of time with each other, but by the end of the day, they were counting and listening to each other.

“They were pleased with their final performance of some Corelli and gave us a carefully rehearsed bow before leaving the stage.”

Max said that The Stiby Quartet ‘rocked’ a performance of Van Morrison’s Moondance, arranged by Amy Stanford and added that they were also the Fine Instrument Award winners.

“The adult quartets also showed improvement from last year with movements from Haydn and Mozart Quartets.

“The Stanford Quartet opened the course with a Concert featuring music for the course day.

“The highlight was a stunning performance of Jonathan Dove's 'Out of Time' quartet with its aggressive contemporary rhythms leading to an ending with haunting viola solos.”