Lisbon, Portugal

The Tejo Quartet originated on the banks of the Tejo River, after four young Portuguese musicians living in different European countries met at a masterclass. Propelled by winning 1st prize in the Portuguese Young Musicians Award 2019, the group began its career in Portugal and abroad.

Since its inception, the quartet has performed in several international concert halls such as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Paris Philharmonie and Gulbenkian Foundation. In 2020, the Tejos began their training at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Regional in Paris, where they were mentored by Miguel da Silva (Quatuor Ysaÿe). Alongside, the violist Paul Wakabawashi has been coaching the quartet since 2019. On other occasions, they received inspirational guidance from the Doric, Sigmund, Chilingirian and Casals quartets.

In the 2020/2021 season, the Tejo Quartet was ‘artist in residence’ at the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam (SQBA), where they expanded their scope of work and artistic hinking beyond the standard of classical chamber music. The enriching experiences of playing side by side with the David Oistrakh Quartet and clarinetist António Saiote also had a great impact on the quartet’s path. The group was one of the resident ensembles at the prestigious Académie Musicale de Villecroze in 2022 – their project explored the Portuguese traditional musical genre Fado as chamber music, together with the Fado singer Tânio Oleiro, the guitarist Hugo Vasco Reis and the poet Tiago Torres da Silva.

Visit the quartet’s Instagram page here