ABOUT US
We are Quart-Ed: a string quartet of qualified music teachers trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Through our work we strive to share all styles of music using our amazingly versatile instruments: popular, film, jazz, folk and Australian contemporary works as well as art music. We particularly prioritise collaborating with living Australian composers, and are guided by the principle of "pluralism" to consciously reflect the diversity of audiences and music makers.
Together we have shared music with students and lifelong learners from all over NSW. We create interactive performance programs that inform, educate and entertain, and continue to expand our repertoire and resources so we can reach more people through the joy and power of music.
MEET QUART-ED
SARAH QIU
Violinist
Sarah Qiu has completed her Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at Sydney Conservatorium, now seeking to combine performance skills and education skills in string pedagogy. Most recently, Sarah led performances as concertmaster in FEMUSC (Brazil), performing alongside maestros Leon Spierer, Alex Klein and Gregory Carreno. Sarah enjoys connecting with young people through working with organisations such as The Arts Unit and Sydney Youth Orchestras. She is always keen for a folk jam, having attended Stringmania and Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival.
Sarah hopes to continue to inspire youth to make music a part of their lives, and to keep exploring different genres, styles and ways of playing violin.
CONNOR MALANOS
Violist
Connor Malanos is a B.Mus (Music-Ed) graduate from the Sydney Con with a background in classical viola, and a foreground in making weird sounds with his mouth.
He has toured all over Australia and New Zealand delivering Beatboxing programs for students and workshops for teacher Professional Development, as well as filming his documentary on the topic.
Connor has been extremely fortunate to spend time performing and working with some of Australia's best musicians across a wide range of genres including Jazz, Hip-Hop, Rap, Folk, Electronic, A Cappella,
Connor is a strong advocate of
'the whole musician' and rounded development across a broad range of skills through Project Based Learning.
KAREN CORTEZ
Cellist
Karen Cortez is a genre-hopping cellist and amateur chorister, and completed her Bachelor of Music (Music Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. As well as being the cellist for Quart-Ed, Karen has recently been exploring the string folk scene and performed with the Narrownecks at the Dorrigo Folk and Bluegrass Festival in 2019. Karen sustained an anxiety-related playing injury in 2016 and is now on the road to recovery with a passion for awakening and deepening people’s musical identities, and developing healthy music making practices in school settings and beyond.
In her free time, Karen enjoys connecting with the world and people for whom music is about and for: Recently, she was a facilitator for Girl Guides NSW, ACT & NT's environmental advocacy seminar, and is currently completing a Certificate IV in Outdoor Leadership.
CAITLIN SANDIFORD
Violinist
Caitlin Sandiford is a classroom teacher, performer, composer and research PhD candidate at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. As a teacher in Western Sydney, she has experience teaching students from diverse backgrounds, including students with special needs, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and students from complex trauma backgrounds. Her research focuses on technology in music education, which informs her teaching practice. While a classically trained violinist, she performs, produces and composes electroacoustic and electronic music.
ASSOCIATE ARTISTS
The Quart-Ed family is growing! We are so grateful to have found such wonderful people to bring new perspectives, passions and personality to Quart-Ed's vision for musicking. We think these musicians are incredible educators and communicators who we love to 'music' with, and if you're lucky, you can get to know them at any of our performances or workshops.
Jonathan Bruhl
Violist/Violinist
Jonathan is a young violist and baritone/countertenor from Armidale in the Northern Tablelands, who is now completing his final year of viola performance studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Throughout his upbringing, Jonathan applied himself to every available musical offering, and has been passionately teaching, composing, performing and creating since he was first exposed to the art of music at the age of six. From his long-term relationship with Gondwana Choirs, AYO, NECOM, The Arts Unit, and many people and organisations to taking masterclasses and singing locally and abroad, Jonathan takes on projects with vim and vigour.
Alex Paterson
Violinist
Alex Paterson started playing violin in 2007, beginning their career as a distinctively dynamic and energetic inter-disciplinary performer, creator and educator based in Sydney/Eora. When they’re not standing before toddlers and the elderly alike educating and advocating for music, they can be found performing in any style with a wide range of orchestras, ensembles, bands and musical pits on a variety of instruments, or in front of said ensembles as their conductor. You might even find them backstage furiously arranging/engraving parts for the musicians, in their room composing and producing music and sound design, singing and acting under stage lights, in the rehearsal room directing scripts they’ve written, or even in quiet bookstores reciting their poetry to curious ears. No matter where you find them, however, one thing remains clear: Alex is as committed to all forms of art and education as they are captivating within them.
