United Strings of Europe (USE) creates musical experiences that celebrate diversity and bridge cultural divides. Praised for its original programming and ‘virtuosically expressive’ playing (The Times), the London-based ensemble commissions and arranges music from a variety of cultural backgrounds and performs regularly in Europe and the Middle East. USE’s recordings for BIS Records have been praised for their ‘compelling programmes’ (BBC Music Magazine) and characterised as ‘superb’ (Gramophone) and ‘supremely executed’ (Stereophile Magazine). The ensemble’s second album, Renewal (BIS-2549), was the Editor’s Choice at Presto Music and one of Apple Music’s ‘10 Albums You Must Hear’.
USE’s collaborators include renowned soloists such as soprano Ruby Hughes, violinist Itamar Zorman and flautist Sébastian Jacot, and also actors, theatrical directors and even jugglers. The ensemble’s lockdown film send back the echo commissioned from composer/director Jasmin Kent Rodgman explores themes of disability and social alienation. It was featured on BBC Arts and selected for the London Film Festival 2021. In 2022, the ensemble performed in York, Leeds and Manchester for the first time, gave début performances at Wilton’s Music Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Kings Place and the Victoria Hall (Geneva), and opened the Byline Festival and Festival on the Close.
Armed with the belief that music and ensemble playing can enrich people’s lives and promote cross-cultural understanding, the ensemble is committed to reaching new audiences through educational work and initiatives that engage young people, refugees and marginalised groups.
For more information, please visit
the United Strings of Europe's website.
