The Magginis are delighted to announce that they have been joined by Martyn Jackson as first
violin and Fiona Bonds as viola. The connections the new line up enjoy go back over 30 years as
Fiona and Will played together in the Emperor String Quartet for several decades and Martyn and
Ciaran were long standing colleagues in the Cavaleri Quartet. In October they made their inaugural trip abroad together, enjoying a very successful visit to the UNAM Festival in Mexico City.
The Maggini Quartet will continue to honour its acclaimed commitment to exploring major British
repertoire alongside the established masterpieces from Europe and beyond.
Exciting plans are taking place for the future. The Magginis are in conversation with a London
venue to establish a residency, which will enable further expansion into music and wellbeing, as
well as establishing a London performing presence. Ongoing educational initiatives will continue to form an important part of their activities.
Meanwhile, the Quartet are shortly to announce a showcase concert to introduce the new
membership, details to follow.
Martyn Jackson
Martyn has been acclaimed by The Berliner Morgenpost as “a truly sensitive musician, impassioned playing and utterly compelling”. Legendary violinist Ida Haendel described him as “one of the most exceptionally gifted violinists I have ever encountered.”
Martyn’s concert schedule has included solo and chamber music performances at many major
venues, and he has appeared widely as a soloist with prestigious orchestras. He has had numerous
chamber music collaborations including with principal players from the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra, Henri Demarquette, Martin Roscoe, Peter Donohoe, Guy Johnston, and Valeriy Sokolov.
A former leader of the Allegri Quartet and Cavaleri Quartet he has also been guest concertmaster
for a number of leading orchestras.
Fiona Bonds
Fiona completed her studies at the Royal Academy of Music and in Berlin. She is Associate Principal Viola of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and a member of their acclaimed Chamber Ensemble. She is also Principal Viola of the City of London Sinfonia, a role offering frequent opportunities to appear as a soloist and explore a wide repertoire.
Passionate about chamber music, Fiona was a founder member of the Grammy nominated Emperor String Quartet, and has recently started running a chamber music series in her home town of Hertford. She is committed to educational work, coaching the viola section of the National Youth
Orchestra and regularly returning to the Royal Academy of Music to give performance classes,
sectionals and as an examiner.
Fiona is in demand as a guest principal viola in many of the London symphony and chamber
orchestras and enjoys working in the studio, recording numerous soundtracks for film and television.