You could call it chamber jazz, but the members of the North Sea String Quartet would be the last to limit their work to mere stylistic descriptions. As improvising string players active in the Dutch music scene, they draw influences from classical, world, and folk music. Four creative minds who combine their full potential and diverse musical backgrounds to create a unique sound while enjoying the process.

Before forming the quartet, all members of the North Sea String Quartet played together in various settings. A mutual love for the string quartet and a shared desire to create an acoustic group that grooves, swings, and moves freely in collective improvisations while mastering the classical sound led them to form the group in 2016 in Rotterdam.

During the pandemic, George Dumitriu (part of inJazz 2021 with the Black Sea Songs project) joined the group. Cellist Thomas van Geelen shared: “This made us, both individually and collectively, reflect on our music and experiment with our renewed sound, testing it out during the Balkonscènes concerts, funded by the Fonds Podiumkunsten. Now, we are further developing our repertoire, with plans to record an album in early 2023, reflecting the time we are currently in.”

Lineup
Pablo Rodríguez | violin
George Dumitriu | violin
Yanna Pelser | viola
Thomas van Geelen | cello