Šuma Quartet

Free admission | Donations welcome

Programme

L. v Beethoven: String Quartet Opus 18, No. 1 in F Major
L. Janáček: String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate letters”

Artist Bio

Yixuan Ren (violin)
Pavla Bedřichová (violin)
Connor Quigley (viola)
Gabriel Webb (cello)

The Šuma Quartet was formed a year ago by prize-winning students studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music. Since then, the group has enjoyed a varied concert schedule, including working alongside Graham Oppenheimer and performing Tchaikovsky’s ‘Souvenir de Florence’. Last year, they were part of the J and A Beare Chamber Society and were coached by Ralph de Souza, Jacky Woods, Matthew Jones, and many more. They are regularly mentored by Krysia Osostowicz and are the 2026 recipients of the St James’ Chamber Music Award. The quartet look forward to receiving coaching from members of the Danish String Quartet in June and performing both Brahms Sextets in September.

Yixuan Ren, born in 2003, is a Chinese violinist currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London as a Joan Weller Scholar, where she studies violin with Radu Blidar and viola as a second study with Jonathan Barritt.

She began playing the violin at the age of four and went on to study at the Primary and Middle Schools affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In 2017, she was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music in the U.S., and from 2018 to 2023, she studied at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester with Jiafeng Chen on a full scholarship.

Yixuan has received numerous international accolades, including 3rd Prize and the Special Prize for Best French Sonata Interpretation at the 2023 Mirecourt International Violin Competition in France. In 2024, she won 1st Prize at both the North London International Music Competition and the Strings Section of the Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition, also receiving the Audience Prize. Earlier successes include 1st Prize at the 2016 Yilan International Music Festival in Taiwan and a Special Prize at the 2015 Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition in Germany.

She has performed as a soloist with Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra and the Forest Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2026, she will appear as soloist with the Tonbridge Philharmonic Orchestra. Her recital venues include St John’s Smith Square, Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, and St James’ Church Piccadilly.

Pavla Bedřichová, a Czech violinist, began playing the violin at the age of four. Coming from a musical family, she studied for eleven years under the guidance of her mother.
She continued her studies at the Pilsen Conservatoire with Radka Beranová and is currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London with David Takeno, where she is a full scholarship award holder.

Pavla is a prizewinner in several national and international competitions, including 1st Prize at the Josef Micka International Violin Competition and the International Violin Competition “Václav Krůček Prize”, as well as 3rd Prize at the Kocian International Violin Competition.
As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras including the South Bohemian Philharmonic, the Pilsen Philharmonic, and the Chamber Orchestra of the Prague Conservatoire. She has appeared at major festivals including Dvořákova Praha, Young Euro Classic, and the Troya Festival, performing in venues such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, Barbican Hall, and the Rudolfinum in Prague.

She has participated in masterclasses with artists including Josef Špaček, Fabiola Kim, and Jakub Hrůša, and has attended programmes such as the Ševčík Academy and the Maiastra Chamber Music Course.

Connor Quigley, born in Glasgow, started playing the viola at the age of 14 studying under Virginia Slater. Shortly thereafter, he was offered a place in the RCS junior department, studying with Andrew Berridge. For Sixth Form, Connor was awarded a fully funded place at the Purcell school of Music to continue his studies with Virginia Slater. He is now in the fourth year of his Undergraduate Degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he is on a full scholarship. In his time at the Guildhall School, he has studied under Rosalind Ventris, David Takeno and Matthew Jones.

Gabriel Webb started playing the cello when he was four years old, and studied with Tim Lowe from the age of eight until he started his undergraduate degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he is now in his third year with Louise Hopkins as a full scholarship award holder. He has been mentored at the Cadenza Summer School by Adrian Brendel and Alexander Baillie and has extensive experience as a chamber musician, performing at numerous festivals including Winchelsea, Hythe and Stour. In a quartet setting, he has also performed alongside Akiko Ono, Arisa Fujita, and Bartosz Woroch. He has given many charity concerts, raising significant sums for both the Children’s Society and War Child. In recent years, Gabriel has been coached by Levon Chilingirian, Caroline Palmer, David Waterman, Oscar Perks, Krysia Osostowicz, David Takeno and many more, and taken part in a masterclass with Leonid Gorokhov. With the LGT Young Soloists, Gabriel took part in the recording of a new work by Rachel Portman, which was recently released by Sony Classical. Last year, he had concerts in venues such as the Tonhalle Zürich, Casino Bern Concert Hall, Stadtcasino Basel, and Barbican Hall.

Presented in association with Guildhall School of Music and Drama