A native of Saddleworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire GILL AUSTIN began playing the violin from an early age. She went directly from secondary school to the Royal Academy of Music to study with the eminent French violinist, Maurice Hasson for 5 years. From leaving the Academy she started her life playing with many leading orchestras, home and abroad including the Royal Philharmic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Welsh National Opera Orchestra. She also has played on a regular basis with London Musici, Ballet Rambert, London Concert Orchestra and the English National Ballet. Over the years she has also been in demand as an Orchestral leader in London and the home counties leading the City Chamber Orchestra and many more. Her hobbies include going to the gym (appearances can sometimes be different),following Manchester United, cats and having a nice time.

The newest member of the quartet, DAVE WILLIAMS was born in Rugby and educated at the town’s well-known public school before going to the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Derek Collier. During his time there he was awarded the Roth Recital and the Bearer prizes as well as the Florence Whitlock scholarship. Since graduating from the Academy he has pursued a varied career both in the UK and abroad and has worked with the London Musici and Ballet Rambert and also appears regularly on TV backing singers including Emma Bunton and Dido. He enjoys shooting and the occasional game of football, being also a follower of Tottenham Hotspur.

PAUL APPLEYARD also comes from Yorkshire, being born in Dewsbury in 1951. He began learning the violin at Oldershaw Grammar School in Wallasey but soon switched to the viola and took lessons with Andrew Thomas, then Principal Viola in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. From school, he studied Law at Kings College London before entering the Royal College of Music as a postgraduate, where his professor was Frederick Riddle. He spent two years in the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra before returning to the UK to freelance. He has worked with all the major London orchestras and those of the BBC as well as spending short periods as Principal Viola with the Ulster, Scottish Ballet and London Festival Ballet orchestras. In 1988 he was invited to join the Scarborough Spa Orchestra, where the quartet was founded and where his interest in arranging began, producing many numbers for both the orchestra and the quartet. His major spare-time activity is in the classic car movement, being the proud owner of a much-cherished Triumph Stag, and is also a member of the Jaguar Drivers Club. His viola was made for him in 1974 by the celebrated modern luthier Sergio Peresson, in Haddonfield NJ.

UNA BIRTCHNELL began studying music at an early age in Bristol. She continued her studies at the Guildhall School of Music, receiving scholarships to complete the Advanced Solo Studies course. Her education continued at L'école Normale in Paris with Raphael Sommer, where she won the Premier Prix and the Jean Toussaint Bach Prize. Her career combines orchestral, chamber and solo playing with many ensembles, from London Mozart Players to Portishead. She plays with the Ulster Orchestra, London Concertante and London Soloists. Una performs regularly with her partner, pianist John Human, at chamber festivals and for the Council for Music in Hospitals. She tutors at the City Literary Institute and plays on a modern instrument by Tony Padday.