It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of the outstanding Maxwell Quartet as the Music at Paxton Associate Ensemble for the years 2019-2021. Winners of the 2017 Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition, the Quartet is now rapidly expanding from its Scottish base and is enjoying tours throughout Britain, Europe and the United States.
It is our particular pleasure to demonstrate our commitment to Scottish music by supporting a young professional group that has risen through the ranks of the Scottish music education system. The Maxwell Quartet’s brilliant and arresting performances of the classical string quartet repertoire, combined with their exuberant championing of the Scottish folk music tradition and their passion for leading outreach activities with children and families, are an ideal complement to Music at Paxton’s ever-growing ambition to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in the very best experiences that chamber music has to offer.
On their appointment, the Maxwell Quartet said:
“We are overjoyed to be beginning a really special musical journey with Music at Paxton this year. When we first came to the festival in 2018, we found it to be such an inspiring place to make music. There is something very special about the warmth of the audiences, the clarity of the acoustics, and the ambience and history of the house and surrounding area. We have so many exciting ideas about what we might get up to at Music at Paxton in the coming years, from ground-breaking programming, to exciting new collaborations, and bringing together classical and folk music repertoire. We hope there’ll be something for everyone to enjoy, and we are particularly looking forward to bringing our music not just to the Paxton audiences, but to the wider community in the borders too.”
