New Zealand's Tasman String Quartet

The Tasman String Quartet is New Zealand’s youngest professional chamber ensemble, formed in 2006 by Anna van der Zee, James Andrewes, Christiaan van der Zee and Miranda Wilson, four young New Zealanders who had recently returned to New Zealand following studies in Germany, England and the United States. Their reputation for fresh, lively interpretations of the classics spread quickly throughout New Zealand, where they were invited to perform in many cities to enthusiastic audience and critical acclaim. They also appeared as touring artists for Chamber Music New Zealand, and were broadcast by Radio New Zealand Concert.

The Tasman String Quartet is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, the first European to sight New Zealand, in recognition of the members’ cultural heritage as European New Zealanders, the Dutch ancestry of first violinist Anna van der Zee and violist Christiaan van der Zee, and their vocation as explorers of the exciting chamber music repertoire.

The Tasman String Quartet are currently in residence at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where they work under the mentorship of the legendary Takács Quartet. Since their arrival in Colorado in 2007, the Tasman String Quartet have built up a busy schedule of concert engagements in Boulder, Denver, Aspen and other Rocky Mountains cities. Their 2008-2009 season will include a six-concert series at Grace Lutheran Church, Boulder, featuring multi-media presentations of music, photography and poetry.

Recent achievements include winning a coveted fellowship to the Center for Advanced Quartet Studies at the Aspen Music Festival and School, enabling them to work intensively between June and August 2008 with the American, Cavani, Emerson, Takács, and Ying Quartets, and members of the Juilliard and Cleveland Quartets. In May 2008, the Tasman String Quartet were invited to New York City by the Juilliard Quartet to perform in the Julliard String Quartet Seminar. In March 2008, the Tasman String Quartet were finalists and prizewinners in the internationally respected Plowman Chamber Music Competition in Missouri.

The Tasman String Quartet retain strong connections with their homeland, having recently given concerts in New Zealand in late May. Future New Zealand engagements will include a tour for Chamber Music New Zealand in October 2008, and concerts for Christopher’s Classics (Christchurch) and the Wellington Chamber Music Society in 2009. Other future plans include boosting their profile by competing in chamber music contests worldwide.

The members of the Tasman String Quartet gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Chamber Music New Zealand, the Stout Trust, Creative New Zealand, the Public Trust, the Friends of Old St. Paul’s, the Takács Society, the New Zealand String Quartet Trust, the New Zealand School of Music, and New Zealand philanthropist Christopher Marshall, who purchased the magnificent Nigel Harris violin played by Anna van der Zee.