Flinders Quartet Names Elizabeth Sellars as its New Violinist

The Australian violinist will step into the post in January 2024

Comprised of Wilma Smith (violin), Helen Ireland (viola), and Zoe Knighton (cello), the Flinders Quartet has been in operation for twenty years and is one of Australia's best-loved string quartets.

New violinist Elizabeth Sellars has appeared as Guest Concertmaster and Principal Violin with the Tasmanian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

She is also sought after as a chamber musician and has played with Ensemble Liaison, Wilma and Friends, and Elision Ensembles — as well as touring for Musica Viva.

She held a position as Lecturer in Violin and Co-ordinator of Strings at Monash University for 16 years and now teaches at the Melbourne Conservatorium, as well as privately. Sellars also holds a doctorate in the stylistic interpretation of works by the English prodigy George Frederick Pinto.

Sellars is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied with David Takeno (violin) and the Gabrieli and Takacs Quartets (chamber music).

"Liz Sellars is an inspiration!" said Wilma Smith. "She is a violinist, musician and educator of the first order with a warm, voluptuous sound that brings the whole quartet together. After long admiring her performances with Sutherland Trio and, more recently, Quercus, it is a gift from the universe to be her sidekick."

"I am thrilled to be a part of this next chapter in Flinders Quartet’s journey as an integral thread in the rich and diverse patchwork of Melbourne’s cultural life," Sellars said. "Flinders has been a leader and innovator in developing and presenting chamber music to its ever-growing audience, and the opportunity to play string quartets with Wilma, Helen and Zoe is one I could not be more excited about."