Overheard on twitter
Sign up to our
mailing list
Your email address
The Callino Quartet :
Sarah Sexton • Héloïse Geoghegan • Rebecca Jones • Sarah McMahon
The Callino Quartet is widely considered to be one of the finest young ensembles to have emerged in Europe in recent years. They were formed at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival in 1999 where they immediately felt a deep musical affinity. Since then they have impressed audiences and critics both at home and abroad with their fresh and enthusiastic performances.
Based now in London, the Quartet has cultivated a wide ranging, diverse and challenging repertoire. They have performed and collaborated with many interesting and diverse musicians including the Vogler and Belcea string quartets, double bassist Edgar Meyer, pianist Barry Douglas, singer Patricia Rozario, rock band Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre and jazz guitarist John Abercrombie. They are passionately committed to contemporary music and have worked with composers Edgar Meyer, Peteris Vasks, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Alexander Knaifel, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Ian Wilson, Raymond Deane, Ronan Guilfoyle and Kimmo Hakola closely on their works for string quartet. The quartet’s first commercially successful CD of the complete quartets by Ian Wilson was followed by a recent Louth Contemporary Music Society recording of music by Arvo Pärt, Valentin Silvestrov, John Tavener and Alexander Knaifel. They have also recorded Ben Dwyer’s guitar quintet with the composer which will be released later this year.
Winners of several international prizes and distinctions, including second prize in the 2008 Tromp International String Quartet in the Netherlands, the continued development of the quartet has included studies in 2008 with Professors Walter Levin (La Salle Quartet) and Rainer Schmidt (Hagen Quartet) at the Musik Akademie in Basel, Switzerland. The quartet were also invited to Italy to work with the distinguished Hungarian composer and pedagogue Gyorgy Kurtàg.
In February 2010 they were a resident quartet at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada and gave their Carnegie Hall début in March, at the invitation of the Kronos Quartet. They have recently commissioned a new quartet by Kevin Volans with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland and this will be premiered early in 2012.
The Callino Quartet take their name from the Irish air ” Cailin cois tSuir a me” which means Girl by the River Suir. This song was the first Irish air to be notated in the late 16th century and became known as the Callino manuscript. It is now on display in Trinity College library, Dublin.
Sarah Sexton studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Erich Gruenberg and Lydia Mordkovich, graduating with a Dip. RAM in 2002. Whilst a student, she was awarded many prizes and scholarships, including the Principal’s Prize for Violin Playing, the Beare’s Bow Award, the Boise Foundation Scholarship and the Heineken Ireland Violin Competition.
Sarah became the first Irish person to lead the European Union Youth Orchestra in 2001, when she led the orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and Paavo Jarvi in European tours. More recently, Sarah has been invited to perform as guest leader of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, the RTE Concert Orchestra and Camerata Ireland.
Sarah regularly appears as soloist, most recently performing on RTE television playing Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland as part of their ‘Mozart Sessions’ series. She has enjoyed performing as soloist with many other orchestras including the RTE Concert Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, the Cork Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Cecelia and the London Irish Chamber Orchestra in concerts throughout Ireland, the U.K., Sweden and Denmark.
Sarah is a founder member and leader of the Callino Quartet, which was established at the 1999 West Cork Chamber Music Festival. Since then, a busy concert schedule has taken them to many countries including the U.K., Italy, France, Germany, Lithuania, Hungary, Canada and the Netherlands. 2006 saw the exciting launch of their own annual festival called ‘Callino and Friends’ which is held every Easter in Bantry House in West Cork.
Sarah also enjoys playing baroque violin and performs regularly with The King’s Consort, The Sixteen and the Classical Opera Company. She has also performed as guest leader of the Sixteen and the Irish Baroque Orchestra.
She plays on a violin made by Nicolo Gagliano made in Naples in 1769 purchased with the generous help of the Arts Council of Ireland and Music Network.
Héloïse Geoghegan, born in Ireland began violin at age 6 and went on to win many national competitions both within and outside her age group. Described by Franco Gulli as very gifted, at 16 she recorded the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No.3 with the RTE Concert Orchestra for the ‘Rising Young Star’ series.
Upon finishing school she won a scholarship to study in Florence , Italy , at the renowned Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. There she immersed herself in intense chamber music training, studying with the critically acclaimed Trio di Milano – Bruno Canino, Mariana Sirbu and Rocco Filippini.
After Florence Héloîse continued her studies with Prof. Mariana Sirbu at one of Germany ‘s most historic music colleges, the Felix Mendelssohn Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Leipzig . During her studies there she was awarded a place in the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig . Héloîse went on to complete both her degree (2006) and her masters (2009) with 1st class honours. Heloise has taken masterclasses with Franco Gulli, Jean-Jacques kantorow, Stefan Georghiu, Rainer Kussmaul, Nora Chastain, Bruno Giuranna and Menahem Pressler.
In 2004 Héloîse made her successful debut as soloist with the Irish National Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall, Dublin , with a captivating performance of Chausson’s Poème. She returned in 2006 and received a wonderful reception for her performance of Bruch’s violin concerto in G minor which was broadcast live throughout Europe . In 2006 Héloîse was artist in residence at the University of Limerick, Ireland with her piano trio. During this time the Trio were invited to perform all over Europe .
Héloîse has given recitals at the Lago di Como and Pontino Festivals( Italy ), L’ASAM Concert Series in Siracusa ( Sicily ), Toscana Classica Concert Series ( Florence ), West Cork Chamber Music, Kilkenny Arts ( Ireland ), Ponte de Lima ( Portugal ) and Suolsalmi ( Finland )Festivals. In chamber music she has collaborated with Mariana Sirbu, Rocco Filippini, Bruno Giuranna, Phillip Moll, Michael Joyce, Christian Giger, Tatjana Masurenko and Massimo Paris.
2009 highlights included performances of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in E minor with the National Symphony Orchestra in the National Concert Hall in Dublin and in Sicily with the ‘Bellini Orchestra’. Recitals included ‘Mendelssohn Haus’, Die Alte Borse in Leipzig ’ and in the ‘Casa da Musica’ Porto , Portugal .
Héloîse will be touring venues in Ireland, the UK and Germany this year with irish pianist Michael Joyce, culminating in their Wigmore Hall debut this December
Rebecca Jones completed her studies at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg in September 2005 where she was a pupil of Thomas Riebl. While a student there, she was invited to perform the Balcom concerto for viola and cello with the Universität Mozarteum Orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies. This performance, part of Salzburg’s ‘Mozartwoche’, was broadcast on Austrian national radio.
In addition, Rebecca has been successful in national and international competitions including 4th prize in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, 2nd prize in the Texaco Young Musician of Wales, the Bernard Shore Scholarship for viola (part of the Royal Overseas League Competition), the Trevor Snode Memorial Prize (from the Martin Musical Scholarship fund) and 2nd prize in the NYOS Staffa competition. She also received a ‘star award’ from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and plays with a Pfretzschner bow bought by the Myra Hess Trust.
As well as being a keen chamber musician, Rebecca has been a guest principal with many orchestras, including Camerata Salzburg, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia and Camerata Ireland.
Sarah McMahon began her cello studies with Nora Gilleece at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin in 1987. In 1995 she moved to London where she studied at the Royal Academy of Music with David Strange, Jenny Ward-Clarke and Colin Carr, graduating in 2001 with a first class B Mus degree and a Dip RAM distinction.
Since then she has been much in demand as soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.K. and Ireland. She is a passionate chamber musician and is a founder member of the Callino String Quartet. They have a busy performing schedule, touring widely throughout Europe, performing at numerous festivals and collaborating with diverse artists such as Barry Douglas, Belcea Quartet, Edgar Meyer, rock band Arcade Fire and John Abercrombie.
In addition to her commitments with the Quartet, Sarah takes a keen interest in historical performance and is the principal continuo cellist with the Irish Baroque Orchestra. She is also regularly invited to play as guest principal cellist with the King’s Consort, English Concert, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Academy of Ancient Music.
Sarah is in increasing demand as soloist with recent concerto performances at St. John’s Smith Square in London, the Casa da Musica in Porto and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. In August 2009 she toured Ireland with the Irish Baroque Orchestra performing the Haydn C major concerto. She has also appeared as concerto soloist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and featured in a critically acclaimed disc for Hyperion of the Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto with Jonathan Cohen and the Kings Consort.
Sarah McMahon acknowledges the support of The Arts Council and Music Network through the Music Capital Scheme 2009.