The Aquarius String Quartet

Haydn Quartet op 9 no 4 in D minor

Allegro moderato

Menuetto

Adagio cantabile

Presto
 

Adrienne Spilsbury Quartet “day,turning”

Dawning

Flight

Radiance

Dance

Deepening

Secluding

Interval 
 

Jerome Kern (arr. Thorp)

Ol’Man River

Who?
 

Haydn Quartet op 76 no 3 (Emperor)

Allegro

Poco Adagio

Menuet

Finale-presto
 

Based in South Manchester, the Aquarius Quartet present an eclectic mix of string quartet masterpieces and evergreen favourites. They are regular performers at The Witham, Barnard Castle and New Mills Arts Centre. Spoken introductions to the pieces performed by members of the quartet are a feature of their concerts and are much appreciated by audiences.

Louise Latham (violin) studied at the Royal Northern College of Music gaining a teaching diploma with distinction, a performing diploma and was awarded the Hiles Gold Medal for orchestral playing.                                                                                                        She was a member of the BBC Philharmonic for six years before commencing a busy freelance career working with the BBC Phil, Halle, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Northern Chamber Orchestra. In 2001 she was invited to tour the USA for three months as leader of London City Opera Orchestra. Highlights of her orchestral work include a concert in Carnegie Hall whilst touring the USA with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and, more recently, Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Opera North.                                                                                           As a chamber music player she is a member of the Aquarius Quartet.                                 As a conductor, she has worked with the Blackburn Symphony Orchestra, Amaretti Chamber Orchestra and directed many string orchestra “playdays”. She also directs, from the violin, the Academy of St. Peter’s, a small string orchestra based in Hale, Cheshire.                                                                                              Teaching commitments involve her at Manchester University, as course director of chamber music and string orchestra courses at Borwick Hall and Higham Hall and with violin students of all ages.

 

Anthony Banks (violin) began his musical education in Sheffield before entering the Royal Northern College of Music Manchester, to study with Benedict Holland and Malcolm Layfield. Since graduating, Anthony has established himself as a leading freelance violinist performing regularly as a member of Manchester Camerata, a principal player with the Orchestra of Opera North and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Halle Orchestra. He has toured extensively with the Performing Arts Symphony Orchestra and with both the D’Oyly Carte and Carl Rosa Opera Companies.

Anthony’s touring schedule has also included concerts throughout Europe, Japan and also in Australia, where the Manchester Camerata were Orchestra in Residence at the Barossa Festival.

He continues to enjoy frequent forays into the world of Pop Music, Television and Musicals, working with such diverse artists as the Bootleg Beatles, the Moody Blues, Stevie Wonder and Russ Abbott and performing in the West End production of My Fair Lady and in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast .

Recent highlights have included semi-staged performances throughout the UK of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Opera North.

Anthony is also a keen chamber musician and much sought after violin teacher in the North West.

 

Adrienne Spilsbury (viola) studied musicology at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she was a regular member of the college symphony and opera orchestras. She performs as a violinist and violist with several orchestras and chamber groups in the north-west, giving performances at venues including the Buxton Fringe Festival and the Spring Bank Arts Centre in New Mills.

Adrienne is also a composer. With a style that is firmly rooted in the British string music tradition, her works are approachable and rewarding for players and audiences alike. Her first String Quartet 'Bodnant' received its premiere in 2013 by the Deconet String Quartet at the Didsbury Arts and Buxton Festival Fringes. In 2019, her song cycle for tenor and strings ‘True Plain Hearts' was premiered by the Amaretti Chamber Orchestra in Manchester, and the Lindow Ensemble premiered 'Eyebright', for 12 solo strings, in Wilmslow. Her second String Quartet awaits both a name and a performance opportunity!

 

Mary Dainton (cello) performs frequently as cellist in several chamber groups including the Aquarius String Quartet and the Eberle String Quintet; as principal cellist in Cheshire Sinfonia and in the Haffner and Amaretti Orchestras; and, occasionally, on the clarinet or the recorder. She also teaches the cello and coaches chamber music groups.                                 Originally trained as a doctor, she worked for many years as a GP in Manchester and now teaches refugee and asylum-seeking doctors at Reache Northwest, and is a non-religious chaplain at Christie Hospital.

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