The Kirker Music Festival, Tenerife

Benjamin Marquise Gilmore, first violin; Laia Valentin Braun, second violin; Sascha Bota, viola & Brian O'Kane, cello. Since its formation in 2002, the Navarra Quartet has built an international reputation as one of the most dynamic and poetic string quartets of today. 

Selected for representation by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) from 2006 to 2010, they have been awarded the MIDEM Classique Young Artist Award, a Borletti- Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a Musica Viva tour and prizes at the Banff, Melbourne and Florence International String Quartet Competitions.

Highly-acclaimed recordings include Haydn’s The Seven Last Words for Altara Records and a disc of Peteris Vasks’ first three String Quartets for Challenge Records, which they recorded whilst working closely with the composer himself. The recording was described by critics as “stunning”, “sensational” and “compelling”, and was nominated for the prestigious German Schallplattenkritik Award. More recently, the Navarra Quartet recorded a disc for NMC Records featuring the music of Joseph Phibbs and future recording plans include the three great quartets of Schubert and Britten. Formed at the Royal Northern College of Music, they commenced their studies under the guidance of the late Dr. Christopher Rowland. Their development continued with studies in Cologne with the Alban Berg Quartet, Pro- Quartet in Paris, the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove and from residencies at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh and at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. A constant desire to evolve sees the quartet play regularly to revered musicians such Eberhard Feltz, Ferenc Rados and Gabor Takacs Nagy. They also enjoy teaching the next generation in masterclass and summer courses. They recently completed a three-year residency as the Associated Ensemble at the Birmingham Conservatoire. The Quartet plays on a variety of fine instruments which include a Hieronymus II Amati and Spirito Sorsana (kindly on loan from the Dutch Nationaal Muziek Instrumentenfonds) violins, an unknown, old English viola and a Grancino cello.

Tim Horton studied at Chetham's School of Music with Charles Hopkins, Ryszard Bakst and Heather Slade-Lipkin. He graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1995. In the same year he replaced Alfred Brendel at short notice in two performances of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Since then he has played with the RLPO, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. In 2005 Tim was chosen as the scholar of the Klavier Festival Ruhr at the recommendation of Alfred Brendel. Tim has a duo partnership with cellist Adrian Brendel with whom he has given tours of Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK, including concerts at the Wigmore Hall, London. He has played regularly at the Plush, Aldeburgh, Bath and Elverum festivals and has collaborated with many leading chamber musicians including Paul Lewis, Peter Cropper, the Elias Quartet, the Vertavo Quartet, Charles Owen and the members of the Kungsbacka Piano Trio.

Benjamin Appl is regarded as one of the leading baritones of his generation. In 2017 he appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival, Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder Festival, the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden and the Frauenkirche, Dresden.

Christopher was a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford where he developed a passion for both performing and teaching.

This led to a life-long interest in history, music and art history. He has led countless tours all over the world covering many subjects and periods. He is equally at home in the ancient world as he is in the major art galleries of Europe. Christoher Monckton is also a professional musician and a distinguished organist.

Simon Monckton studied Theology at Durham University. He is particularly interested in the influence of religion on great Mediaeval cathedrals and how this differed throughout Europe. Simon has led tours to destinations all over the world and has taken cultural tours to all regions of Spain on many occasions.