About the Larsen Quartet
Having trained at the Royal College of Music, the Larsen String Quartet was formed in 2005. During their professional development, they had the opportunity to take part in masterclasses with Mstislav Rostropovich and some of the leading British Quartets including the Chilingirian and Endellion Quartets.
Since their debut, the Larsen Quartet has gained experience in performing at different events in prestigious venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Windsor Castle as well as various churches and hotels in London. String Quartet playing is their passion and they enjoy creating the right ambience and programme for each client.
Member Biographies
Please click on the links below to see our biographies.
- Lisa Öberg, Violin
- Francesca Barritt, Violin
- Nadya Larsen, Viola
- Katy Sharpe, 'Cello
Lisa Öberg
Lisa Öberg was born in 1982 in Switzerland to a Swedish father and Romanian mother. She began to play the violin at age 5 and made her concerto debut at age 10 performing Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 with orchestra in Winterthur, Switzerland. From 1998 she was a student at the Yehudi Menuhin school and from 2001 to 2005 she studied with Professor Dora Schwarzberg at the University of Music and Arts in Vienna, from where she graduated in 2005 with distinction. At present Lisa is a student of Natalia Boyarsky at the Royal College of Music, London. Lisa has won many prizes in competitions including first prizes at the Swiss Youth Music competition, the Music-Olympiad in Constanza, Romania, the International Music competition in Stresa, Italy and the special prize in all categories at the "Remember Enescu" competition in Bucharest, Romania. As a soloist Lisa has toured Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark with the Lyceum Strings and the Bucharest Young Symphonic Orchestra. She has also performed concertos by Tchaikovsky and Paganini with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden. In the UK she has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room. Lisa is currently supported by the "Migros Studienpreis" scholarship.
Francesca Barritt
Francesca Barritt was born in 1986 in London and began learning the violin at the age of 9. When she was 15 she entered the Junior Academy of Music in London where she studied with Susan Collier. A year later she won a place in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. With the NYO she performed under eminent conductors such as Marin Alsop, Sir Roger Norrington and Andrew Litton in many of England’s major concert halls. Francesca is now in her third year at London’s Royal College of Music where she studies with professor Yossi Zivoni. In 2005 Francesca formed the Marcel Piano Trio. The trio has since played recitals in London, Hertfordshire and Munich, Germany. In 2006 the group were invited to participate in the renowned chamber music course at Prussia Cove, Cornwall, where they took part in Masterclasses with Valeria Schervansky. As a soloist Francesca has performed Mozart’s violin concerto number 5 with the Junior Academy chamber orchestra, the Bach Double Violin Concerto in York Minster with the York Young Soloists and Vivaldi’s Seasons with Chiltern Youth Chamber Orchestra. Future plans include Prokofiev’s 2nd Violin Concerto with Aylesbury Youth Orchestra in 2007.
Nadya Larsen
Nadya Larsen graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2007, where she held a scholarship for the duration of her two years of postgraduate study, supported by the HR Taylor Trust, and Frederick Johnston Award. Prior to this Nadya studied for a degree in music at Royal Holloway, University of London. Nadya now divides her time between working with the Southampton Music Service and the Berkshire Maestros as a tutor on their scholarship scheme; as well as enjoying a mixture of freelance work, primarily with the Larsen Quartet and Naiades Ensemble.
Katy Sharpe
Following the completion of her BMus (hons) degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, Katy was awarded a place to study with Thomas Carroll at the Royal College of Music. As one of the top cellists at the Royal College she was presented with the Pro Musica Award and also selected to take part in a masterclass with Thomas Demenga (a top soloist) at the International Cello Festival in Manchester. Katy has been principal cellist under the batons of Sir Roger Norrington and Janos Furst and has worked with Bernard Haitink. Whilst in Manchester, she was selected to play with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. As well as her interest in orchestral and quartet playing Katy has also given solo recitals as part of the St-Martin-in-the-Fields lunchtime concert series.