Matthew Quenby

Matthew began playing the violin at the age of 5. At 18, he changed to viola and began his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, where he graduated in 1989 with the Hiles Gold Medal string prize. This led to becoming an Artist in Residence at the Banff Center School of Fine Arts in Alberta from 1989 to 1990. In 1991, he became Principal Viola of the European Chamber Orchestra as well as Assistant Musical Director, touring extensively with the orchestra across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Focusing on chamber music, Ensemble Reza has become a major part of Matthew’s musical output since 2016, enjoying the unique and fresh approach to creating that shared experience and promoting empathy between artists and audience. Matthew was Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the Masters de Pontlevoy Academie Internationale de Musique from 2004 to 2008 He appears regularly as a soloist with London based Chamber Orchestras and has been a member of the 4th Dimension Quartet, London Concertante and recorded for EMI as part of the Lunel Quartet.

An ambition to perform music from the ‘Golden Age’ was realised working with John Wilson since 2002, as one of the Principal Violas in the John Wilson orchestra and since 2019 with the Sinfonia of London undertaking a vast number of recording projects, that have led to many prestigious awards.