Benjamin Marquise Gilmore and Laia Valentin Braun have been appointed the new first and second violinists for the London-based quartet
The Navarra String Quartet have welcomed two new permanent violinists to the ensemble.
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore and Laia Valentin Braun and have been appointed first and second violinists respectively, joining violist Sascha Bota and cellist Brian O’Kane in time for the quartet’s twentieth anniversary in 2022.
Gilmore is currently joint concertmaster of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and has appeared as soloist and director with the SCO and the Camerata Salzburg. He often collaborates with members of the SCO and Philharmonia in a chamber music setting and has performed at festivals such as Kuhmo, Prussia Cove and Ravinia.
Swiss-born Braun has performed at halls and festivals across Europe, appearing as a soloist at London’s Wigmore Hall, with Camerata Zurich and Kammerorchester Basel, and with his own chamber music collective Ensemble Vindeleia.
Highlights for the quartet’s upcoming season include performances at the North Norfolk Chamber Music and the Lammermuir Festivals, a tour to Ireland and the eighth edition of their own chamber music festival in Weesp, Holland. The quartet’s twentieth anniversary will be celebrated with the release of the complete Mozart quartets dedicated to Haydn, new commissions, and planned tours to Europe and the USA.
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