
Don’t miss this delightful programme of music for a summer Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately there was a ‘glitch’ on Eventbrite which was noticed yesterday (3rd July), so apologies if you tried to book tickets but were unable to do so. It’s all fixed now so you can get your tickets here.
Listen to the Thistle Quartet here.
Meet the Quartet…

New Zealand violinist Coralie Usmani holds a Bachelor of Music Honours (first class) in violin performance from Auckland University. Her early career as a freelance violinist included performing often with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Auckland Chamber Orchestra, Korutet String Quartet and folk/pop bands Avalanche City and Madam Tsunami among others.
Coralie has appeared on NZ national TV a number of times, toured Australia (Big Day Out 2013) and performed in Paris with her string quartet ‘Korutet’. Since moving to Aberdeen, Scotland in 2015, she has performed at Celtic Connections, Aberdeen Jazz Festival and in venues across the country, from London to Orkney. A versatile violinist, she has also been actively developing some more ’strings to her bow’ with a focus on learning gypsy jazz and Scottish folk with leading performers from both genres. Her discography includes two albums by duo Madam Tsunami in which she performs, sings, writes and produces music with her husband Adam. Coralie is passionate about passing on her love of music to the next generation, and has been an active teacher and educator throughout her career. She is currently working with music charity Sistema Scotland who are bringing music on an immersive scale to children and communities in the form of ‘Big Noise’ orchestras. Locally in Aberdeen, the programme is based in Torry, where the charity engages with over 500 local children weekly.

Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, Laura Horn is a violinist working to use music to empower communities. While pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at McGill University in Montreal, Laura co-founded Chamber Music Without Borders, an organisation which sent music students out into the community to perform in churches, schools, and shelters. Following her studies, Laura moved to Melbourne, Australia, and directed the pilot of Crashendo, an El Sistema-inspired orchestral programme which continues to work with Burmese refugees from the local community.
In 2012 Laura took a position as a Musician at Big Noise Raploch in Stirling and since 2014 has been the Team Leader of Big Noise Torry in Aberdeen, where the programme engages with over 500 children weekly. Run by the charity Sistema Scotland, the Big Noise programmes use the orchestra to transform children’s lives and empower communities in Stirling, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee. The programmes are inclusive, intensive and immersive, and work with children and their families from birth through to adulthood.
Throughout her career working with communities Laura has been an active chamber musician and teacher, with a particular love for the string quartet. As second violinist of the Thistle String Quartet, Laura enjoys exploring new repertoire and performing in both traditional and non-traditional concert settings.

Laurie Rominger, originally from Boone, North Carolina, is a violist and teacher with diverse interests in and outside of music. An active orchestral musician, she has been a member of numerous full and chamber orchestras in the US, Germany, and Austria. She is especially passionate about chamber music, and performs duo and quartet repertoire regularly in both Aberdeen and North Carolina.
Laurie maintains an active schedule as guest recitalist and clinician, with recent appearances in Europe, Central America, and across the Southern United States. In 2015 she was featured on Panama’s national radio station and served as guest artist at the Alfredo Saint Malo Festival in Panama City.
As a teacher, Laurie has served as viola teaching assistant at both Louisiana State University and Florida State University. She has also worked within various iterations of El Sistema around the globe, including Kids’ Orchestra in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Fundación Sinfonia Concertante de Panamá (FUNSINCOPA) in Panama, where she served as Academic Coordinator and Director of String Activities. She currently teaches viola at the University of Aberdeen and works as Senior Musician with Big Noise Torry.
Laurie holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Louisiana State University, as well as a Master’s of Music from Florida State University, and a Bachelor in Music and German from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She also is a member of the Aberdeen Diving Club, and recently won gold and silver medals at the Edinburgh Spring Masters Novice competition.

Originally from Finland, Jenni was captivated by the sound of the cello at the age of 6 which started a lifelong journey of finding ways to develop her own sound. Jenni learned the cello with several teachers (Pirjo-Riitta Toivakka, Tuula Tikkala, Lauri Voipio and Pauli Heikkinen). During her studies in Tampere (Bachelor of Music in Music Pedagogy) Jenni spent some time learning Czech music and free improvisation in Brno, Czech Republic. In 2016 she obtained her diploma of Master of Arts in Music with distinction from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, Belgium, where she studied under Viviane Spanoghe.
Jenni believes that music is everyone’s birthright and works actively to make music education available for everyone. Prior to moving to Scotland Jenni was working actively to share her love for the sound of the cello in Finland and in Belgium by teaching in various music schools and other settings. She has been a part of the ‘Big Noise’ family since December 2016 when she joined the Torry team. She’s been working as a musician in the new Big Noise centre in Douglas, Dundee since August 2017, and as a senior musician since January 2019. As a cellist Jenni enjoys playing chamber music performing mainly string quartet and piano trio repertoire.
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