Arts Council Award for HCP Project: Diversity and the British String Quartet

The Villiers Quartet has received an award from the Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants programme, to support their new project in partnership with Oxford University and the Oxford Humanities Cultural Programme. This summer, the Villiers Quartet will launch their project "Diversity and the British String Quartet" which examines British musical identity in the wake of Covid-19, Brexit, Black Lives Matter, and #MeToo events.

The award will help fund the Villiers Quartet's "From Home" project to commission and record 6 new works by British composers. The project also helps support "VQCreate" composition workshops for secondary students affected by lockdown. The final presentation of these works will take place at a symposium at Oxford University, to collaboratively reflect on “Diversity and the British String Quartet” and discuss how artists and educators can advocate for a more diverse and inclusive environment in chamber music and composition.