General Manager Appointment

The New Zealand String Quartet - this country’s foremost chamber music group - has appointed a new general manager. Sarah Chesney will start this month part-time and take up the role full-time at the beginning of 2019. She replaces Christine Argyle who has been enticed to return to her first musical love as CEO of the Choral Federation. She leaves having been a highly successful manager of the Quartet for four years.

Chair of the NZSQ Trust Board, Professor Gary Hawke, said Sarah would continue to build on the String Quartet’s reputation and profile in New Zealand and internationally.

“The Quartet has been fortunate in the quality of its managers throughout my ten years with the Trust. Christine’s work has been appreciated by the Quartet, by all its stakeholders, and by its audiences.”

“Sarah’s appointment comes after a rigorous search and demonstrates the high level of professionalism of the New Zealand String Quartet. This is an exciting time for the String Quartet and we are looking forward to Sarah’s experience and skills to support further continued music-making at the highest level,” Professor Hawke said.

Sarah Chesney has a background in music scholarship, especially in nineteenth century music, and has built a reputation through artistic management with the NZSO, in music education as a contract lecturer at NZ School of Music, and through membership of the board of contemporary music group, Stroma.

“Creative New Zealand has renewed the appointment of the NZSQ’s multi-year arts leadership role, a position shared in the chamber music world only with Chamber Music New Zealand.”

The New Zealand String Quartet performed to more than 12,000 people over the past year in New Zealand and overseas, including school concerts, workshops, international festivals and tours.

“The Board is confident that Sarah will build on these successes and continue in our ambition of promoting New Zealand music and music-making and in developing younger New Zealand musicians,” Professor Hawke said.

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