About the musicians
The members of the quartet are all active London freelance musicians and regularly play for orchestras including the English Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Soloists of Covent Garden, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English National Opera, Camerata of London and City of London Sinfonia.
Julia Burkert, violin
Born in Bayreuth, Germany, Julia studied under a full scholarship with Ann Elliott-Goldschmid and the Lafayette Quartet at the University of Victoria in Canada, followed by postgraduate studies with Peter Lissauer at the RSAMD in Glasgow, Scotland. Since 2005, Julia has pursued an active freelance career in London. She leads the German Doctors’ Orchestra and has led the Cambridge, Guildford and Croydon Symphony Orchestras.
Her special love belongs to chamber music. She also enjoys contemporary, pop, crossover, film and TV projects. She starred in the award-winning movie “Farinelli, was a member of the cast of the West End show “Sinatra”, and has performed on “Strictly Come Dancing”, “X Factor”, “Circus Roncalli” and toured internationally with “ABBA: The Show”.
Alice Butcher, violin
Alice Butcher combines chamber music with an extensive freelance orchestral career. She is a graduate of York University and gained her MMus with Distinction from Trinity College of Music. Awards include The Wilfrid Mellors Travel Bursary, The Emanuel Hurwitz Chamber Music scholarship and The Charles Davis Award to attend Dartington International Summer School. Alongside her work with the Crystal Palace Quartet, Alice regularly performs in chamber recitals with other small ensembles.
Alice’s orchestral work encompasses orchestras throughout Britain and Ireland. Alice also enjoys the lighter side of music and has played in the shows “Sinatra” and “Miss Saigon” as well as touring throughout Europe with “ABBA: The Show”.
Chris Brody, viola
Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Chris obtained a BA in Music from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. He spent a post-graduate year at the Schaffhausen Konservatorium, Switzerland before coming to London to further his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His teachers have included Herbert Greenberg, Robert Koff, Wilma Smith, Andras von Toszeghi, Jack Glickman and Simon Rowland-Jones.
An experienced freelance orchestral musician, Chris has worked as principal and tutti viola in dozens of orchestras in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. He has given concerts internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, with a wide variety of partners. As a singer (bass), he has performed with choirs ranging in size from six hundred to twelve, and is currently taking voice lessons with the tenor John Upperton.
Sarah Westley, cello
Since receiving her BMus (Hons) from Trinity College of Music under Joely Koos and Tim Gill and her PGdip and LRAM from the Royal Academy of Music under Jo Knight and Jennifer Ward Clark, Sarah has performed internationally in a variety of roles. She was awarded the title of BBC County Young Musician of Hereford and Worcester, has performed a series of recitals at the Niveran Centre, Iran, and has performed Saint-Saens, Elgar and Boccherini concertos around the UK.
Her training included work as principal cellist for British Youth Opera and Orchestra of the City and she now works regularly with major UK orchestras. Session work includes Killa Kela, Jarvis Cocker, Damon Alban and Elton John and she has played solo in multiple West End productions. Sarah is also an active baroque cellist, performing with historically informed performance ensembles in London and elsewhere.
