2007-2016
2016
Appointment of Monique Lapins as 2nd violinist.
Performances on stage with the Royal New Zealand Ballet in Alexander Ekman’s Cacti.
Concert tour of New Zealand with American jazz pianist Uri Caine for Chamber Music New Zealand
Tour of UK & North America, including concerts at the 2016 Salisbury Festival and Festival of the Sound in Ontario.
12-centre Heartland Classics tour of New Zealand and performance at the newly-opened venue The Piano in Christchurch, as part of the Christopher's Classics series.
Tour of NZ with American violist James Dunham (ex Cleveland Quartet) for Chamber Music New Zealand.
Release of 1st in series of three Brahms CDs on Naxos.
Tour to North America, including concerts at NZ Embassy in Washington, Ottawa Chamber Festival and short residency at Florida State University.
Concert in Hobart, Australia, for Musica Viva Tasmania.
2015
Lilburn complete chamber works for strings CD is released on Naxos.
Multiple performances at the 2015 Adam Chamber Music Festival in Nelson.
Auckland Arts Festival performance of Requiem for the Fallen by Ross Harris, with Voices NZ Chamber Choir, Richard Greager and Horomona Horo.
Two tours for Chamber Music NZ, including the premiere performances of Ross Harris’s Piano Quintet with Stephen de Pledge.
Multiple performances at the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival, Australia.
Helene serves as adjudicator for the 2015 Michael Hill International Violin Competition.
Concert tours of UK & North America, including performances at the Cheltenham Festival, the City of London Festival and Festival of the Sound (Ontario).
Multiple performances around NZ on the Russian Icons tour.
Tour to North American including performances with clarinettist Igor Begelman of multi-media work The Raven and the First Men by Timothy Corlis at University of Winnipeg and at the Clark series at the University of California.
Performances in China at the Body Music conference in Hangzhou, China, celebrating the cross-cultural works of Jack Body and other New Zealand composers.
Douglas Beilman retires from the NZSQ after 26 years.
2014
Appointed Associate Professors at Victoria University of Wellington.
Doug, Helene, and Rolf awarded MNZM for services to NZ music.
World premiere, New Zealand Festival performance of Requiem for the Fallen, a collaborative project with Ross Harris, Vincent O’Sullivan, Choirs Aoteoroa and Horomona Horo.
NZ Festival performance of Tales from the Forbidden City, a collaborative project with the Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra Beijing, followed by Chamber Music NZ tour of Tales from the Forbidden City to three national centres.
Body Beautiful tribute concert, including the performance and recording of Jack Body’s works at the New Zealand School of Music.
Performances at Huria Marae, Tauranga for the 150th commemoration of the Battle of Gate Pa.
Tour to North America, including recording of Brahms Quartets in Toronto on the Naxos label and performance at Festival of the Sound.
Invitation concert at Parliament hosted by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon Christopher Finlayson.
Multiple performances in the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Townsville.
Performances at Dunedin Festival, including Ross Harris’s Requiem for the Fallen with Voices NZ Chamber Choir and Gao Ping’s Quintet.
UK concert tour, including performances in Sheffield and Manchester with violist Peter Cropper and at the Leicester International Music Festival.
2013
Multiple performances in the biennial 12th Adam Chamber Music Festival, Nelson.
Performances at the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival, Australia.
Helene Pohl invited to adjudicate on the panel of 2013 Michael Hill International Violin Competition.
Mantis Jazz Project in collaboration with Reuben Bradley, John Psathas, Matt Penman, Roger Manins and James Illingworth, honouring the music of the late Drew Menzies, in Wellington and Nelson Jazz Festivals.
International tour to North America including performances at 5 festivals in Canada, including Festival of the Sound.
Performance in TEDx with taonga pūoro composer Richard Nunns.
Bravo Britten! national tour honouring the centenary of English composer Benjamin Britten’s birth.
Five-day residency at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Groundbreaking tour to Europe and Scandinavia, including first time performances in Sweden.
Partnership project with the Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra, ‘Tales from the Forbidden City’, at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
2012
Major national tour of BEETHOVEN! the Complete String Quartets cycle – a three-series tour of New Zealand in partnership with Chamber Music New Zealand and the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, including live-streaming all six programmes to audiences around the world.
The Kings Place, London project. A week-long series of events in London curated by the New Zealand String Quartet, featuring New Zealand arts and artists.
Four international tours to Ireland, Slovenia, Croatia, Netherlands, South Korea, North America, and UK, including performances at the Jeju Isles Festival in South Korea, UK summer festivals, and Festival of the Sound.
Concerts at the New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington and a collaboration with New Zealand baritone Jonathan Lemalu.
Opening performance at the Leipzig Book Fair as part of the New Zealand as Country of Honour programme for the 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair, in concert with New Zealand soprano Madeleine Pierard.
Residencies in Australia at the International Chamber Music Festival, Canberra and Crossbows Festival, Brisbane.
Performance and recording of the Lyell Cresswell Concerto for String Quartet with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Released new CD Asian Music for String Quartet on the Naxos label.
Celebrated the New Zealand String Quartet’s 25th Anniversary with an event at New Zealand’s Parliament House.
2011
Released CD of music by New Zealand composers, Notes from a journey, on the Atoll label, winning a ‘Tui’ for Best Classical Album in the New Zealand Music Awards.
Nine concert tour of UK summer music festivals including two concerts and debut at the City of London Festival.
Ten city New Zealand tour with soprano Jenny Wollerman, two programmes including Schoenberg’s String Quartet No 2 and Ross Harris’s The Abiding Tides.
New Zealand tour with pianist Péter Nagy of two programmes of Hungarian-inspired music including Bartok, Brahms, Liszt and Ligeti.
Performed at Festival of the Sound in Ontario, Canada.
Two concert debut at Ten Days on the Island Festival in Tasmania, Australia with Taonga Puoro musician, Richard Nunns.
2010
Released third of three CDs of Mendelssohn’s String Quartets on the Naxos label.
Residency at International Chamber Music Festival, Canberra.
New Zealand six city tour of two programmes of music by Schumann and Shostakovich.
Ten city New Zealand tour of “Schubertiade” with pianist Michael Houstoun.
Six city tour of two programmes of music by Schumann and Shostakovich.
Nine city North American tour including concerts with guest artist James Campbell, clarinet, including Festival of the Sound.
2009
Signing with UK agents Lomonaco Artists.
Released second of three CDs of Mendelssohn’s String Quartets on the Naxos label.
US tour including debut in Library of Congress series.
North American tour of summer festivals and series including Festival of the Sound and Ottawa Festivals.
Performance of the Mendelssohn Octet in collaboration with the St Lawrence String Quartet.
New Zealand ten-centre tour of multidisciplinary performance of Haydn’s Seven Last Words from the Cross.
New Zealand six city tour of two programmes to celebrate Haydn bi-centenary.
2008
Released first of three CDs of Mendelssohn’s String Quartets on the Naxos label.
July tour of Canadian summer festivals and series, including performing at Festival of the Sound.
Nine concert tour of Europe including Scotland, Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Czech Republic.
New Zealand six city tour of French composers with pianist Michael Houstoun.
Gillian awarded MNZM for services to NZ music.
2007
Tours to United States and Canada. Performed at Festival of the Sound in Ontario, Canada.
Debut appearance at Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville, Queensland.
Released CD of String Quartets by Alban Berg and Hugo Wolf on Naxos label.
New Zealand six city tour of two-concert series of music by Bach and Mendelssohn, including a new arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for string quartet.