Affinity Quartet

Upcoming

Sun May 10 11am + 2pm Four Winds

Barragga Yangga World Première
Venue: Windsong Pavilion, Four Winds NSW

Tickets
Sat 23 May 1pm + 5pm JAHM

3MBS & JAHM: Shaping Soundscapes 2.0
Venue: Justin Art House Museum, Prahran VIC

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Sat May 30 2pm MPavilion

TAIWA: chamber music in dialogue
Venue: Tadao Ando’s MPavilion, Queen Victoria Gardens, Melbourne VIC

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Sun May 31 2pm Anglesea

TAIWA: chamber music in dialogue
Venue: Anglesea Memorial Hall, Anglesea VIC

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Mon June 8 11:30am Woodend

UpLIFT Woodend Winter Arts Festival
Venue: St Ambrose Church, Woodend

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Fri June 12 6pm Melbourne

Affinity Quartet and Friends
Venue: Melbourne Athenaeum Library, VIC

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Sat June 13 8pm Brunswick

Affinity Quartet and Friends – UpLIFT
Venue: Tempo Rubato, Brunswick VIC

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Sun June 14 2pm Moorabbin

Affinity Quartet and Friends
Venue: Kingston Arts, Moorabbin VIC

tickets
Fri August 7 7:30pm Clayton

MPAC Sound Gallery Series
Venue: David Li Sound Gallery, Clayton VIC

tickets
Fri August 14 10:30am Narre Warren

Affinity Quartet and Friends
Venue: Bunjil Place, Narre Warren VIC

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Aug 18 - Sep 2 Clayton

Monash Academy Orchestra Residency
Venue: Robert Blackwood Hall, Clayton VIC

Information
Sun October 25 2pm, Four Winds

Affinity Quartet Windsong Sessions
Venue: Windsong Pavilion, Bermagui NSW.

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November 13 - 22 Mexico

Festival de Música de Morelia

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Performance Archive

Wed February 25 11am Take Four: Chamber Music for Everyone! Venue: The Round – Theatre, Nunawading VIC. Opening performance by Blackburn High School
Tue March 17 8pm Affinity Quartet and Friends. Venue: Sydney Mozart Society, Concourse Concert Hall, Chatswood NSW
Mar 12 – Apr 2 Affinity Quartet Chamber Music Residency and Coaching. Venue: Australian National Academy of Music, Abbotsford VIC
Thu April 2 3pm and 7pm Sacred: Seven Last Words, The Good Shepherd Chapel, Australian National Academy of Music, Abbotsford Convent VIC
Melbourne Performances

Sat Feb 22 7pm Take Four: Chamber Music For Everyone! Program 1 at Kennedy Nolan, Fitzroy, VIC.
Sun Feb 23 7pm Take Four: Chamber Music For Everyone! Program 2 at Readings Bookstore, Hawthorn, VIC.
Adelaide Festival Chamber Landscapes - South Australia
Tue Mar 4 12:30pm Daylight Express: Shostakovich and Beethoven. Venue: Elder Hall, Adelaide, SA. ‍ABC Classic Fm
Fri Mar 7 7:30pm Horizons: Essence. Venue: UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker, SA.
Sat Mar 8 11:30am Horizons: Bridges. Venue: UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker, SA.
Sat Mar 8 2:30pm Horizons: Continents. Venue: UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker, SA.
Sun Mar 9 2:30pm Horizons: For the Future. Venue: UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker, SA.
Sun Mar 9 5:30pm Horizons: Dream Collectors. Venue: UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker, SA.
Australian Touring
Sun May 18 3:00pm Take Four: Chamber Music For Everyone! Program Venue: Benalla Art Gallery, VIC.
Mon May 19 8:00pm Take Four: Chamber Music For Everyone! Program Venue: Tempo Rubato, Brunswick, VIC.
Thu June 12 1:30pm MIVA Hall Community Concert, Mallacoota, VIC
Sat June 14 2:30pm Montague Visiting Artists, St Paul’s Church, Narooma, NSW.
Sun June 15 12:00pm Sapphire Coast Music Society, Wolumla Memorial Hall, NSW.
Europe
July 4 7:00pm Australian Double Power, Rheingau Musik Festival, Germany. Venue: Schloss Johannisberg. Program
July 5 6:00pm Mozart Night, Rheingau Musik Festival, Germany. Venue: Kloster Eberbach, Kreuzgang, Eltville am Rhein. Program
July 6 6:00pm Mozart Night, Rheingau Musik Festival, Germany. Venue: Kloster Eberbach, Kreuzgang, Eltville am Rhein. Program

Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival - Finland
Wed July 16 11:00am Nordic Utopia. Venue: Kuhmo Church. Program
Thu July 17 6:00pm Nordic Utopia. Venue: Kuhmo Arts Centre
Fri July 18 3:00pm Nordic Utopia. Venue: Tuupala Primary School
Sat July 19 3:00pm Nordic Utopia. Venue: Kuhmo Arts Centre
Sun July 20 6:00pm Nordic Utopia. Venue: Kuhmo Arts Centre
Wed July 23 11:00am Nordic Utopia. Venue: Kuhmo Church
Thu July 24 6:00pm Nordic Utopia. Venue: Sotkamo Church
Sat July 26 11:00am Nordic Utopia. Venue: Kuhmo Arts Centre
Affinity Quartet members in other chamber music concerts and giving masterclasses across the festival. View the full program
Regional Touring & Melbourne Performances
Sat Aug 9 11:00am Arts Bundanoon, Bundanoon Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, NSW
Fri Sep 5 6:00pm Melbourne Athenaeum Library Recital, VIC
Mon Sep 8 8:00pm Take Four: Chamber Music For Everyone! Program Venue: Tempo Rubato, Brunswick, VIC. Tickets
Sep 15 - 23 Four Winds Residency, Bermagui NSW

Osaka, Japan
Sep 26 - Oct 5 World Expo Performances, Affinity Quartet presents Take Four: Chamber Music for Everyone! Info
INCANTATION TOUR - Australia
Sun Oct 26 2:30pm Macedon Music, VIC. Sold out
Sun Nov 2 2:30pm INCANTATION, Four Winds 2025 Season, Windsong Pavilion, Bermagui NSW.
Fri Nov 7 2:00pm INCANTATION, Primrose Potter Salon matinee sitting, Melbourne Recital Centre, VIC
Fri Nov 7 6:00pm INCANTATION, Primrose Potter Salon evening sitting, Melbourne Recital Centre, VIC. Sold out
Sun Nov 23 2:30pm Hunters Hill Music Series, Sydney, NSW
Europe, UK
Feb 9 12pm Auditorio Sony Madrid, Spain. The International Institute of Chamber Music, Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia.

Feb 9 7:30pm Auditorio Sony Madrid, Spain. The International Institute of Chamber Music, Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia.

Feb 15 1pm City Music Society, St Bartholomew’s London, UK.

Mar 18-24 Residency with Brett Dean, Calne, UK.

Mar 24 4pm Maiastra Music, St Andrew’s Church Cobham, UK with Brett Dean, guest viola.

Apr 12 7:30pm Auditorio Sony Madrid, Spain. The International Institute of Chamber Music, Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia.

Apr 22 8pmCiclo Jóvenes Talentos Fundación Banco Sabadell, Auditorio Sony Madrid, Spain.

May 5 8pmConcierto Ciclo Centenario Telefónica, Iglesia de Santo Domingo, Ibiza, Spain.

May 10 12pm & 7:30pm Auditorio Sony Madrid, Spain. The International Institute of Chamber Music, Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia. Livestream link TBA

May 11 8pmConcierto Ciclo Centenario Telefónica, Cueva de los Verdes, Lanzarote, Spain.

Australia
INNOVATORS

May 23 1:30pm Beleura House & Gardens, Mornington, Vic.

May 24 7:30pm Aireys Inlet Community Hall, Vic, in support of Rural Australians for Refugees.

May 26 2pm Adelonia Theatre presented by Adelong Alive Museum, NSW

May 28 Belgian Embassy, Yarralumla ACT.

May 31 8pm Hawthorn Arts Centre, Melbourne, VIC

Jul 8 7:30pm Xavier de Maistre + Affinity Quartet, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, VIC

BEETHOVEN OPUS 18 - the six early quartets

Jul 20 2:30pm All Saints Church, Bodalla, NSW.

Jul 24 1:30pm Part 1 MIVA Hall, Mallacoota, VIC

Jul 26 6pm Melbourne Athenaeum Library, Vic, Part 1 Opus 18 nos. 4 and 5.

Jul 28 2pm Part 1 Aireys Inlet Community Hall in support of Rural Australians for Refugees, Aireys Inlet, VIC

Sep 6 6pm Melbourne Athenaeum Library, Vic, Part 2 Opus 18 nos. 1 and 6.

Sep 8 4pm Open Rehearsal, Kennedy Nolan, Fitzroy VIC

Sep 13 7pm NGV Friday Nights curated by Tempo Rubato, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Sep 15 4pm Part 2 Aireys Inlet Community Hall in support of Rural Australians for Refugees, Aireys Inlet, VIC

Sep 17 8pm The Wedge, Sale, VIC

Sep 19 7pm Part 1 Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park, VIC

Sep 22 4pm Part 2 Gasworks Theatre, Albert Park, VIC

Sep 28 6pm Part 1 Four Winds Bermagui NSW

Sep 29 12pm Part 2 Four Winds, Bermagui, NSW

Nov 15 6pm Melbourne Athenaeum Library, Vic, Part 3 Opus 18 nos. 2 and 3.

DEATH AND THE MAIDEN

Oct 15 1pm The Lyceum Club of Melbourne, VIC

Oct 23 11am ‘Death and the Maiden’ Musica Viva Sydney Morning Masters, NSW

Oct 25 8pm Mechanics Institute Lawson, Blue Mountains, NSW

Nov 16 4pm QDOS Fine Arts, Lorne, Great Ocean Road, VIC

Nov 19 7pm ‘Death and the Maiden’ Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre, VIC

Nov 22 7:30pm Geelong Chamber Music Society, VIC

2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition

Affinity Quartet was awarded the Audience Prize, The Robert Salzer String Quartet First Prize, and The Monash University Grand Prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition last July. The first time in the competition’s 32 year history that an Australian ensemble has taken out the top prize. The jury comprised Wilma Smith (Chair), Kirsten Dawes, Lukas Hagen, Louise Hopkins, Hsin-Yun Huang, Amandine Savary and Timo-Veikko Valve. Photos Sean Maloney, James Grant, Wilma Smith for Musica Viva Australia.

Four musicians playing string instruments on stage during a concert, with a dark wooden wall background.

Group of 12 people standing in a line on stage with a wooden backdrop, dressed in formal and semi-formal attire, some holding awards or trophies.

Four people standing side by side in formal attire, with a wooden carved background, one woman holding a glass award or plaque.

A woman in black walking between two groups of people clapping and smiling during an event in a dimly lit room with a wooden floor.

A group of people at an event, with some clapping and smiling, gathered around a woman in black as she receives an award or recognition from a man in a black suit.

Group of people with microphones and a guitar in a dimly lit backstage or music venue setting, engaging in conversation or preparing to perform.

A large group of diverse young adults and a few older individuals gathered for a group photo in a modern room with wooden floors and pink-colored walls. They are smiling and posing cheerfully.

Four musicians, three women and one man, holding string instruments such as violins and a cello, standing in a concert hall with wooden paneling and pink lighting.

A social gathering at night with five people engaging in conversation. The scene appears to be indoors with dim, colorful lighting. One person is holding a glass of wine.

Three people at an event holding glasses of wine, engaged in conversation with a purple and pink backdrop.

Four musicians performing on stage with string instruments, two playing violins and one playing a cello, in a dimly lit concert hall.

A group of four classical musicians performing on stage; two women and two men playing string instruments (violin, viola, and cello).

A man with curly hair dressed in a black jacket walking into backstage area behind a woman with long dark hair playing a violin, with a cello beside her, at a concert hall.

Orchestra of five musicians performing on a stage with a wooden backdrop. The musicians are playing violins and a cello, and are dressed in black.

Group of five people on a stage, four women and one man, with a wooden backdrop. The man is handing a certificate to a woman, and the others are smiling and watching the exchange.

Four musicians, three women and one man, performing on stage with string instruments—violin, viola, and cello, with a black grand piano in the background. They are dressed in black, seated or kneeling, focused on their music.

Group of four people standing together at an award ceremony, with a wooden wall background. The woman on the far right is holding a metallic award plaque. Two of the people are holding certificates or awards.

2023 Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition, Germany

Affinity Quartet received Second Prize at the Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition in April 2023. The jury comprised Günter Pichler (Chair), Gustav Frielinghaus (Amaryllis), Andrea Hampl, Volker Jacobsen (Artemis), Helena Poggio (Cuiroga), František Souček (Zemlinsky), Antti Tikkanen (Meta4). Photos Sonja Beck, Birgit Botzenhart.

Four musicians playing string instruments on stage, two women and two men, with a black background and music stands.

A group of five people, three women and two men, standing together in a conference room with a large digital screen behind them. The digital screen displays an aerial view of a town with mountains in the background and the text 'Stadt Bad Tölz'.

Group of five people, three women and two men, standing indoors in front of a beige brick wall. The women are holding certificates or awards. The setting appears to be a formal event or ceremony, with a podium on the left labeled "STADT BAD TÖLZ" and

Group of nine people standing on stage with a banner in the background at an award or competition event.

2023 Mozart International String Quartet Competition, Austria

Affinity Quartet received Second Prize and Special Prize for the Best Interpretation of a Contemporary Work for their Finals performance of Brett Dean’s (AU) String Quartet no.3 ‘Hidden Agendas’ at the Mozart International in Salzburg, Austria in February. The jury comprised Cibrán Sierra Vázquez (Chair),
Sarah Bitlloch (Elias Quartet), Erich Höbarth (Quatuor Mosaïques), Nina Lee (Brentano Quartet), Teresa Schwamm-Biskamp (Armida Quartet). Photos Christian Schneider.

A group of four musicians holding string instruments, including two violins, a viola, and a cello, standing together indoors near a large glass window and a blue poster advertising an international Mozart competition in Salzburg 2023.

Group of nine diverse people posing on stage, some flexing arms, others smiling and making playful poses, in formal and semi-formal attire, in front of a large glass window.

A group of four musicians performing on stage with string instruments in front of a seated audience.

A group of five diverse people standing on a wooden stage in front of a plain wall, dressed in formal black attire, smiling at the camera.

A group of seven young adults seated in a conference or lecture hall, smiling and engaging with each other. The hall has red chairs, some tables, and bottles of water visible on the tables. There is a woman standing in the background clapping.

A young Asian woman with brown hair wearing a black puffy jacket and holding a yellow card with the number 5.

A row of diverse people, including young adults, sitting in a conference hall or auditorium, attentively listening to a presentation or speech.

2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, London

Affinity Quartet received Third Prize in the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in April 2022. The jury comprised John Gilhooly (Director, Wigmore Hall), Jonathan Brown (Casals Quartet), Hélène Clément (Doric Quartet), Simin Ganatra (Pacifica Quartet), Louise Hopkins (Head of Strings, Guildhall School of Music & Drama), Laura Samuel (ex-Belcea Quartet), Kyril Zlotnikov (Jerusalem Quartet). Photos Benjamin Eolovega for Wigmore Hall.

Person with long dark hair playing the violin in an empty auditorium with red seats

A string quartet performing on stage with violin, viola, and cello instruments.

2021 Affinity Quartet Lockdown Bubble Residency & Regional Touring

CutCommon Magazine interviewed Mee Na Lojewski about the quartet's experience of living and working together during three months of lockdown in Victoria: https://www.cutcommonmag.com/how-this-string-quartet-created-a-work-bubble-during-lockdown/

Mee Na Lojewski's cello on kitchen bench top during Aireys Inlet residency

Affinity Quartet rehearsing during lockdown of 2021

Affinity Quartet walking down a paved path near greenery and trees with Aireys Inlet lighthouse in the background, under a clear blue sky.

Affinity Quartet mascot Juno, the greyhound. Emotional support animal to the quartet. Likes to chew chairs of violists

Affinity Quartet musicians captured during a rehearsal

Affinity Quartet musicians during a tea break from rehearsal during their lockdown bubble of 2021

Affinity Quartet recording their recording submission for the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet competition

2020 International Tour of Italy Austria Netherlands Belgium Germany UK

with Brett Dean, Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale. Photo Leo Samama

Opening Night Archipelago Season, Fondazione Cini, Venice.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Embassy Series, London

With Team Festival Les Voix Intimes, Belgium

Ealing Music and Film Festival with Lotte Betts-Dean

2017 to the present Kennedy Nolan Concerts Fitzroy

Affinity is bringing chamber music into this incredible space, and it’s proving popular with listeners who are hunting for something that little bit different to the concert hall.

CutCommon

It’s a setting for conversations to unfold, both musical and social, and I think that’s part of the enjoyment for our audiences as well as us.

Nicholas Waters Affinity Quartet violin