Britain's leading contemporary string ensemble, the Smith Quartet, perform the works of five diverse British composers: music inspired by the ancient English landscape, 9th century Irish poetry, 20th century human tragedy and the passing of friends.

For almost twenty years the Smith Quartet has been at the forefront of contemporary music. They have built an impressive repertoire by many of the world's most exciting composers and have established an international reputation for their dynamic style and original approach to contemporary music. The quartet is dedicated to the commissioning of new works and to date have had over 100 works written especially for them.

Kevin Volans, Django Bates, Michael Nyman, Stephen Montague, Gavin Bryars, Michael Daugherty and Howard Skempton are amongst many who have written for the quartet. In addition to regular broadcasts with the BBC, they have featured on numerous CDs, including their Steve Reich album on the Signum label, featuring Different Trains, Triple Quartet and Duet in 2005. The album received rave revues from magazines, radio stations and papers alike.