Julian Azkoul artistic director

Programme:
Caroline Shaw — Entr’acte
Osvaldo Golijov — Tenebrae
Luigi Boccherini (arr. Azkoul) — Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid
Tchaikovsky — Andante Cantabile
Shostakovich — String Quartet no.8 in C Minor

This concert takes place at St Christopher’s Church, St Christopher's Green, Haslemere, GU27 1DD.

Tickets are available to purchase via the Tickets page.

Julian Azkoul
Anglo-Lebanese violinist Julian Azkoul is in demand as an ensemble leader, soloist and collaborator, appearing as guest director of the Britten Sinfonia, Camerata, Nordica and Archets du Léman, and guest leader of the Ulster Orchestra, Façade Ensemble, Chineke!, Riot Ensemble, Camerata Venia and Nexus Orchestra. He has appeared as first violinist of the Jubilee and Piatti string quartets and co-led UK orchestras including the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Hallé, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Manchester Collective. He is the artistic director of the multinational string ensemble United Strings of Europe, curating programmes and arranging music for the ensemble.

The United Strings of Europe
The United Strings of Europe (USE) creates musical experiences that celebrate diversity and bridge cultural divides. Praised for its original programming and ‘virtuosically expressive’ playing (The Times), the London-based ensemble commissions and arranges music from a variety of cultural backgrounds and performs regularly in Europe and the Middle East. USE’s acclaimed recordings for BIS Records include Renewal - Editor’s Choice at Presto Music and one of Apple Music’s ‘10 Albums You Must Hear’, and Tchaikovsky - BBC Music Magazine’s Orchestral Choice in February 2023. Through the Night showcased the world premiere recording of Daniel Kidane's Be Still alongside new arrangements of works by Maddalena Casulana, Carlo Gesualdo, and Richard Strauss, and garnered them further critical acclaim for ‘dissolving a lot of conventions in both programming and performance. (Gramophone.) Spring 2025 will see the release of Hommages: an album bringing together composers from Europe and the Americas (Golijov, Stravinsky, Tabakova, Mustonen), inspired by dreams and recollections of the past.

Recent and upcoming performance highlights include the ensemble’s debuts at Summer at Snape, the Cambridge Music Festival and Arts Keele; as well as a return to the Barbican’s Milton Court alongside regular collaborators SANSARA, and the Wigmore Hall for a concert broadcasted by BBC Radio 3.

USE works across a range of media, collaborating with innovative artists from the world of music and beyond. The ensemble’s lockdown film send back the echo commissioned from composer/director Jasmin Kent Rodgman featured actor Vilma Jackson and explored themes of disability and social alienation. It was released on BBC Arts and selected for the London Short Film Festival 2021. Autumn 2025 will see the ensemble launch a new concert programme showcasing send back the echo at major halls across Europe.

In 2022 USE partnered with director Bill Barclay and choreographer Sean Gandini to create the show Apollo Resurrected featuring a bespoke arrangement of Stravinsky’s ballet Apollon musagète for strings and jugglers, alongside a new commission from Joanna Marsh.

Armed with the conviction that music and ensemble playing can enrich people’s lives and promote cross-cultural understanding, the ensemble is committed to reaching new audiences through educational work and initiatives that engage young people, refugees and marginalised groups.