The Morassi Quartet are an exciting young string quartet, formed in 2018 at the Royal College of Music by violinists Natasha Humphries and Katie Mazur, violist Toby Warr, and cellist Iza Stefańska. At the RCM, they have been selected to perform at the annual RCM Chamber Music Festival, FestivALL, and the Essential Bartok and Legacy of Vaughan Williams series. The quartet also perform regularly outside the RCM, most recently in the Berkshire Chamber Music Festival and at Dartington Music Festival, where they were mentored by and performed with the renowned Brodsky Quartet. The quartet also receive regular guidance from chamber musicians Simon Rowland-Jones, Yuri Zhislin and Gabrielle Lester. Upcoming engagements include recitals at St Mary Le Strand and in Lincoln, and a series of concerts in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France. The quartet members have been generously supported in their studies by Help Musicians, the Stephen Bell Charitable Trust, the Orpheus Scholarship, the Audrey Piggott Award and the ABRSM Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award.
Instagram: @morassiquartet
What are you all studying at the RCM?
Natasha - We all did our Bachelor of Music at the RCM, starting in September 2018 and graduating in July 2022. Katie, Iza and I are now pursuing our Master in Performance degrees at the RCM whilst freelancing, and Toby is currently on trial with the LPO.
How and why did you establish the Morassi Quartet?
Natasha - Above all, the incredible repertoire and endless possibilities of these four instruments playing together were what attracted all of us to the string quartet. I really wanted to form a quartet when I joined college, so I signed up for the chamber music ‘mixer’, which is essentially speed-dating but for chamber groups. One of my groups was a piano trio with Iza. We got on really well and enjoyed playing together, so I messaged her the next day asking if she would be interested in playing in a quartet with me… she said yes! I’d already met Katie during fresher’s week, and Iza had just met Toby, so we asked them and luckily, they both wanted to play. We feel very grateful that we formed the quartet early on in our studies, and we’ve been playing together ever since.
... I signed up for the chamber music ‘mixer’, which is essentially speed-dating but for chamber groups.
What are some of your most important priorities and considerations when first forming the ensemble?
Iza - If a group plays well together from the beginning, the group will have potential. Have fun! We first agreed to play as a quartet simply for the joy of making great music together, and we still see this as a huge priority. It’s also important for every quartet member to enjoy each other’s company and value each other’s skills. From the beginning, we made an effort to respect each other’s personalities and welcome each other’s differences, and this created a healthy atmosphere to rehearse in. We also took the time to get to know each other outside of rehearsals as well. I love spending time with my quartet, and it always make me feel so much better.
What opportunities have you enjoyed most as an ensemble during your time at college?
Natasha - We have been offered a wide variety of performance opportunities as a quartet during our time at college. One of our first projects was the “Essential Bartok” series, where we were chosen to play Bartok’s String Quartet No. 5. We had learnt movements of Haydn and Beethoven quartets before this, but this was our first time learning a quartet in its entirety together – it’s not an easy piece and we had less than a month to prepare it! At first it seemed impossible to do, but it was incredibly satisfying once we figured out how to put it all together and it was a successful performance.
What do you see as the Quartet’s unique selling points? How have these helped you find more opportunities to perform?
Iza - We are very versatile in terms of the repertoire we play. Whilst we work mostly on classical repertoire, we are not afraid of playing film music, pop, jazz etc. and we are happy to try whatever our clients want us to play.
How have you gone about promoting your ensemble and what strategies do you use to advertise your brand?
Natasha - We have an Instagram account where we try to be active and update our followers about our upcoming engagements. We usually speak to our audiences at concerts and let them know about our Instagram account so they can keep supporting us. We often receive messages from people inviting us to perform at further concerts or their own private events, because they enjoyed one of our previous performances. We also have business cards which we take wherever we go! We are always on the lookout for opportunities and try to be proactive in getting in touch with potential promoters and clients.
Can you tell us a bit about how you go about choosing your price points when liaising with clients?
Iza - It depends what kind of music they want us to play and for how long. Usually if the event is outside London, we ask for travel expenses. We take into consideration the client’s budget, but we also value ourselves, our skills and the rehearsal time required, and we use the MU minimum rates as a guideline.
How does your quartet operate administratively? What responsibilities are shared among the group and how are logistics organised, such as financial records and setting up a bank account?
Natasha - I love finding new contacts and performance opportunities, and talking to clients, so I have taken on this role. I’m also responsible for finances, which involves sending invoices and making sure everyone is paid correctly. Clients almost always request to pay our total fee to one bank account, so they will pay to my account, and I will then pay the others individually. However, it may be worth us setting up a quartet bank account in future as we gain more experience.
Iza is very organised, so she is responsible for planning our rehearsals, booking rooms at college, and generally just making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time!
Toby takes care of the scores and individual parts, so he acts as our librarian.
Katie is great at production and marketing, so she takes care of our social media platforms, organises photoshoots and recordings, and she is currently in the process of creating our website.
We think it’s important to share out these non-playing tasks, to avoid any potential disagreements and to make sure each member is carrying responsibility for the quartet, and always value what each individual is doing for the group.
... it’s important to share out these non-playing tasks ... to make sure each member is carrying responsibility for the quartet
Do you have any advice for students on how they might set up a chamber group and go about finding opportunities to perform in the professional world?
Iza - Play with different people, try out different ensembles. We were very lucky that we met at the beginning of our first year and still play together. Sometimes people get on well but are not the best match when it comes to playing. Always be kind to each other, but don’t be afraid to say your opinions, find people who are understanding and tolerant so you can say what you think and discuss openly without arguments. Find a way to reach consensus. Also spend time together outside of rehearsals and travel together because that will bring you closer.
Always be kind to each other, but don’t be afraid to say your opinions
In terms of finding opportunities to perform - market yourselves well, regularly update your biography, recordings, and repertoire list so you’re always ready to send them to potential promoters and clients. Be proactive in looking for opportunities, don’t just wait for them to come to you. Also, whilst it’s tempting to say yes to every single opportunity that comes your way, always make sure you are being taken seriously as musicians – make a contract with conditions and fees, and check you are being paid what you deserve.