Whats On - Thursday 5th August 7:30 pm

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Freeman String Quartet

Biographies

Toby Hughes

Leo Melvin

The Freeman String Quartet is a driven young ensemble formed in 2017 at the Royal Northern College of Music.

During their first year, the Freeman Quartet won the RNCM’s Nossek chamber music competition with their performance of Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op. 12, and in their third year won the RNCM’s Hirsch prize for their performance of Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 132.

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Since forming in 2017, the Freeman Quartet have received coaching from some of the worlds leading chamber musicians including: Donald Grant, (Elias String Quartet) David Waterman, (Endellion String Quartet) and Petr Prause, (Talich String Quartet).

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The Freeman Quartet have performed in the RNCM’s annual Chamber Music Festival since 2017, and in 2018 were invited to be the Quartet in Residence at the South Downs International Summer Music Festival, where they had the opportunity to work with members of the Benyounes String Quartet as well as giving the closing performance of the festival performing works by Smetana and Haydn in St. Andrews Church, Alfriston Sussex.

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They have performed at many venues across the UK and have given concerts for the Manchester Chamber Music Society and the Lake District International Music Festival.

The Quartet are delighted to have been invited to attend two chamber music courses in 2021, including the Delft International Music Festival in Holland, and the Chilingirian Chamber Music Course in Sussex, for which they have been awarded a full scholarship. 

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In September 2020, the Freeman Quartet were appointed as the RNCM’s Studio Quartet, and were also one of the winners of the Tunnell Trust Awards.

In 2009 at the age of sixteen, Toby was invited to study at the combined universities of Lausanne, Fribourg and Sion with Professor Božo Paradžik. In his second year at university, he was awarded the ‘Future Talent’ Coombs Scholarship by the Duchess of Kent and in May 2011 was the winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s ‘Julius Isserlis Scholarship’ which enabled him to continue with his studies. In the autumn of 2011, he moved to Berlin, where he studied with Matthew McDonald, principal bass of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2012 Toby returned to the U.K. to continue his studies with Juří Hudec at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, graduating in 2015 from the International Artists Diploma course.

After his return to the U.K. Toby won numerous competitions and awards, in 2013 he won Chandos Symphony Orchestra's ‘Young Musician of the Year’, the string section of the 2014 Royal Over-Seas League Competition (the first double bassist ever to do so), in 2016 the Bromsgrove International Competition and in 2018 won the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition.

Toby has performed with major international orchestras both in Europe and the U.K. His recital engagements have included appearances at Wigmore Hall, St-Martin-in-the-Fields, The Edinburgh Festival and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the Royal Over-Seas League final. Having been awarded support from The Tillett Trust, The Musicians' Company and Making Music, he will be performing at many venues across the U.K. Toby has been a City Music Foundation artist since 2018 and his debut CD will be released later this year on the Champs Hill Record label.

London-born Cellist, Leo Melvin is twenty-nine years of age. He graduated with honours from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied on a full scholarship, with Richard Lester. He was a member of the RCM Junior Department, where he won all the major prizes, culminating in a performance of the Saint-Saens concerto. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and played in all the major concert halls including the Royal Albert Hall in the BBC Proms. More recently, Leo has performed several Concerti (including Dvorak, Schumann, Haydn D and Brahms Double) with various orchestras such as Sinfonia D’Amici and Kings Sinfonietta and recorded a solo cello track for Howard Goodall’s CD release ‘Enchanted Voices.’ During his time at GSM&D Leo took part in masterclasses with such eminent musicians as Gary Hoffman, Tim Hugh and Susan Tomes. In October 2013, Leo was invited to play with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe on their Academy Program and performed with the orchestra in Dijon. Leo then moved to Hamburg to study with professors Kleif Carnarius, Claudio Bohorquez and Troels Svane. He has since been playing with LSO, LPO and Philharmonia orchestras in London, giving solo and chamber recitals, and teaching cello and piano. Leo has also just become an official member of the Villiers Quartet.