Will Schofield joins the British string quartet
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The Maggini Quartet has announced Will Schofield as its new cellist. He replaces Michal Kaznowski, who died in May 2023. Schofield is already a long-standing colleague of the quartet, having played several concerts with the ensemble this autumn, and joins members Julian Leaper, Ciaran McCabe and Martin Outram.
Schofield studied music at Edinburgh University, where his tutors included Kenneth Leighton and Edward Harper. He first met Steven Isserlis at the inaugural Deal Music Festival and continued to take lessons from him until graduating, when he was awarded scholarships to study with RaduAldulescu first in Rome and then at the Menuhin Academy in Gstaad.
On returning to the UK, Will joined the Emperor Quartet, which became the first British winners of the Evian/Bordeaux International Competition in 1995 and enjoyed a busy career over the next 20 years, playing at major concert series throughout Europe and festivals including Edinburgh, St Magnus, Prague Spring, Kuhmo, Montpelier, Monte Carlo, Mostly Mozart NYC, Bath, Brighton, Cheltenham and Reims. The quartet made several tours in the US and Canada and for the British Council in Ecuador and Nigeria. The quartet enjoyed collaborations with Julian Bream, Michael Collins, Ian Bostridge, Philip Langridge, Ian Fountain and Isabelle Faust among others, as well as playing on a number of film scores for Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.
Schofield continues to enjoy a varied musical life. He has toured with Peter Gabriel, is a regular on the London recording session scene and is currently principal cello with the City of London Sinfonia and associate principal cello with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (ASMF), as well as being a member of the ASMF Chamber Ensemble.
The Maggini Quartet’s recording plans include the imminent release of a Mozart disc for Meridian and the continuation of its Beethoven series for the same label. Ongoing educational initiatives will also form an important part of their activities, reaching out to a wide range of new audiences.
Read: Maggini Quartet cellist Michal Kaznowski has died
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