The members of the Quartet

Nigel Ireland violin / Zeta Jazz Fusion violin
Alan McClure violin / viola / Zeta Jazz Fusion 5 string violin
Stephen Begley viola / Zeta Jazz Fusion viola
Sian Evans ‘cello / Zeta Jazz Fusion ‘cello

The highly acclaimed ISQ was formed in 1994 and is the most in demand quartet on the Island of Ireland. The quartet performs at over 200 events and concerts per year on both sides of the border and on mainland UK.

As professional musicians, the members of the quartet have performed with many of the British Isles’ major orchestras including National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, National Concert Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Scottish Ballet, BBC National Symphony Orchestra of Wales, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Camerata Ireland, and have toured throughout Europe, North America and the Far East. They have also worked with a variety of artists including Shirley Bassey, George Benson, Bread, Maria Brennan, Chris de Burgh, Peter Corry, Phil Coulter, Daniel O’Donnell, Divine Comedy, Bill & Gloria Gaither, Sir Bob Geldolf, Ronan Keating, Brian Kennedy, Katie Melua, Elaine Paige, the late Gene Pitney, Martine McCutcheon, Luciano Pavarotti, Rod Stewart, Randy Vanwarmer, and Dave Willetts.

The Ireland String Quartet has performed many times on TV and radio, including numerous occasions on UTV’s Kelly show. The quartet made its debut at the Belfast Festival at Queens’ in 1996 and has provided the string sounds on numerous commercial recordings. The quartet recorded its first film sound track for ‘Food for Ravens’ in 1998, and Alan & Nigel recently recorded the music for a BBC two part documentary celebrating the centenary of Belfast’s City Hall.

As well as performance, the members of the quartet are involved with many education outreach projects in conjunction with the Ulster Orchestra, Live Music Now! and the quartet headed a recent major project on composition for Sound Inventors, London.

The quartet has released two albums to date and is currently working on a third with singer Ceara Grehan to be released later this year. A promotional tour is being planned in conjunction with the album launch.