The West Ocean String Quartet
The West Ocean String Quartet marked its twentieth anniversary in 2019. This year the ensemble will embark on an innovative series of concerts celebrating the traditional music of Ireland’s Atlantic coast, echoing the quartet’s title. The material has been curated from the broad musical spectrum of this region – from the swinging barn dances of West Donegal down to the grand song-airs and rousing polkas of Kerry. The music has been arranged by the quartet’s cellist Neil Martin, sharing the quartet’s interpretation of this regional music with both a global audience and the traditional community and to initially perform the music within the coastal communities and islands that inspired it.
Since it took its first tentative steps in 1999, WOSQ has received world-wide acclaim. Its founding members, Séamus McGuire (violin) and Neil Martin (cello) were later joined by Niamh Crowley (violin) and Ken Rice (viola).