Described as 'vivid and intense' (Arts Desk album review 2025) and playing with 'unfettered passion and a sense of forward momentum' (BBC Music Magazine 2025) Brother Tree Sound formed in 2017 out of a love for the powerful intimacy of the string quartet. Built around the talents of Anna de Bruin, Thea Spiers, Edward Keenan and Eve Littlefair, they are deeply connected by a passion to explore the great canon of the string quartet repertoire as well as staying tuned to the continuous shifting landscape of today's broader music scene. With three albums generating over 10 million streams worldwide,  a recent sold out debut at Kings Place London, recipients of grants from the  Vaughan Williams Foundation, Hinrichsen and Marcus trust and with numerous performances in music clubs, on concert platforms, at music festivals, outdoor stages and folk music clubs, the group is blazing a trail, inspiring audiences through their projects and performances. …“The players were completely committed, whether tapping their instruments, playing harmonics or getting growls and whimpers out of their instruments…a real tour de force”… (The Arts Desk Kings Place concert review September 2025)

 

​Dedicated to the performance of new music their work includes regularly commissioning composers to write for them. They have given world premiers of many new works over the past year championing many other contemporary composers work alongside. Earlier this year, they released a recording of one of these commissions 'hope spiral' by Ben Nobuto on NMC records, which has been nominated for an Ivors Academy award for Best Small Scale Composition. Their album of early 20th century French quartets by Ravel, Tailleferre, Milhaud and Durey on First Hand records has been received to international critical acclaim with glowing reviews on Radio France and BBC radio 3 record reviews gaining a 4 star review in BBC music magazine. 

​

Having recorded and released 5 EP's and one full length album spanning experimental, folk, contemporary and mainstream classical, Brother Tree Sound feel they have a spiritual home in the recording studio. As individuals, members have extensive experience in Londons iconic studios recording on various projects for artists including Taylor Swift, Bryce Dessner and Jonny Greenwood and for films, video games and TV including Stranger Things,  One Battle After Another, Conclave, Saltburn, Deadpool and Wolverine, Alien Covenant, Call of Duty III  and The Haunting in Venice.  Bringing their experience in the studio along with their dexterity as an ensemble and their open approach to collaborating on projects, they have partnered in the studio with composer and Crow Hill Company director Christian Henson on a groundbreaking library of sounds which will be released in late October.

​

​Nurturing a deep rooted connection to folk music they released their EP Maid on the Shore. Here they are delving into the rich and fascinating world of traditional folk songs from England, Ireland and Wales. Their heartfelt arrangements are driven by personal connections to the timeless traditions, stories and landscapes. The album includes well-known songs as well as uncovering a few hidden gems.  This passion has led them to explore the folk music of the UK and the composers that were influenced by folk traditions resulting in concerts programming folk music inspired quartets by Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst and Imogen Holst. 

 

Always searching for new audiences, the quartet released their album Songs Without Words in 2022. An album  review from blogger 'Stationary Travels' writes: 'They found time to create an intimate record featuring their own composition which highlights their considerable prowess as arrangers and performers as well. The album abounds in intimate, ethereal beauty while occasionally showing playful glimpses of their self-confessed “eclectic tendencies”.   

 

Concerts this season will feature a new programme exploring folk music of the UK and Ireland as well as further afield. This will take them to venues in Oxford, Brighton, Chelmsford and London and features string quartets by Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst and Elizabeth Maconchy, generously supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation. They will be returning to Fidelio cafe as well as taking part in the Made in Prague festival 2026 to play works by Smetana, Maconchy and emerging Czech composer Kateřina Horká. 

 

A new commission has been supported by the Hinrichsen Foundation and the Marchus Trust with composer Laura Moody writing for string quartet and percussion. This will be premiered next January at the Jaqueline du Pre concert hall in Oxford with a London premiere on 14th March at Conway Hall Sunday Series. In collaboration with Oxford Universities and the JdP Music building in Oxford. They have been chosen to deliver the main composition workshop this academic year at the Royal Musical Association conference taking place at Oxford University’s new Schwartzman Centre Building in January 2027.