About Us
Here's a little more information about each of us! All players listed here frequently play together in the string quartet (and also in other ensembles!) and depending on availability a different combination of players will perform at your event.
Ailsa Taylor - Violin
Ailsa graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2015 with honours having completed the Bachelor of Music degree. Whilst studying, she received the Ewing Prize for History, Form and Analysis Writing. She has always had a love of music, having wanted to play the violin since she was three! She has taken part in many side-by-side projects with, for instance, Scottish Opera, the RSNO and has performed in the BBC proms with the BBC SSO. Ailsa has taken part in numerous musical projects, such as working alongside Sistema Scotland as part of the Big Noise project and setting up performances in schools and hospitals whilst studying in Glasgow. She has recorded with various musicians and bands of all genres over the years and has performed in many countries, including the Netherlands, France, Poland and Germany. She is currently a primary school teacher in Glasgow and enjoys passing on her love of music to the children.
Emma Donald - Violin
From the Highlands of Scotland, Emma has been playing the violin since the age of 8. Growing up, she enjoyed learning both classical and traditional Scottish music, and has strived to keep both passions running simultaneously. She has a first class honours degree in music from the University of Edinburgh, where she was leader of the three main student orchestras. This has given her the opportunity to work with inspiring conductors including Will Conway, Chris George and Russell Cowieson. Since graduating, she performs regularly with orchestras such as Mahler Players and Amicus Orchestra, her piano trio, the Hans Gal Trio, and her neo-trad fiddle and clarsach duo, Turadh. She has also worked with Scottish Ballet, and with up and coming opera group, Magnetic Opera, where she was the soloist for their production of Menotti’s The Medium in London.
Emma is a full time musician currently based between Edinburgh and the Highlands. She has built up a portfolio career that includes community music work, individual and ensemble teaching, and solo and group performance.
Yvette Rosie - Viola
Yvette co-founded the Rosewood String Quartet in 2013 and is the point of contact for all enquiries. Yvette graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2017 with a first class honours degree in music (BMus hons). During her time at university she received tuition on both violin and viola whilst balancing academic study in many different musical areas. In the later half of her degree she specialised in independent research projects focussing on string playing and teaching alongside her principal study of viola. Over the course of her degree she played violin and viola in multiple youth orchestras, both local and national, and led the university symphony orchestra from her second year. Whilst studying she was awarded the Muriel Thorne Hague Memorial Prize for achieving the greatest distinction in class work and in performance on a musical instrument. After graduating she co-founded the Fyrish String Quartet where she enjoys performing chamber music. The group had their debut in May 2018 and have several concerts planned in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the highlands in 2019. From 2015-19 Yvette played fiddle with Annasach Ceilidh Band. With the band Yvette performed extensively across Scotland, the UK and also enjoyed trips to Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and France.
Yvette also teaches violin and viola with both Inverclyde and Stirling Councils and is the specialist upper strings instructor at Lomond Junior School in Helensburgh.
Joanna Wilson - Cello
Joanna developed a love of music from an early age and began studying the cello at the age of 8. Ensemble playing soon became a key focus for Joanna, with highlights including touring the UK and Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the NYOS String Ensemble. Joanna has won a number of awards at the Ayrshire Music Festival, including the Bank of Scotland Trophy for a performance of the Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto. In 2012, Joanna spent her year abroad in Santander, Spain, where she studied cello at the Conservatorio Ataulfo Argenta with Miren Zubeldia. Joanna graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2014 with an MA(Hons) in International Relations and Spanish. During her time there, Joanna enjoyed a number of excellent musical opportunities. She was principal cello in its Symphony Orchestra and New Music Ensemble, co-principal of its Chamber Orchestra, and took part in a variety of small chamber groups including string quartets, trad/folk bands and a tango ensemble. Joanna also toured Belgium as principal cello of the Universities of Scotland Symphony Orchestra. During her postgraduate studies Joanna played in the Kelvin Ensemble and she currently plaus with Glasgow Philharmonia, the Ayrshire Symphony Orchestra and Glasgow Orchestral Society.
Guest Players
Sarah Lockhart- Cello
A recent graduate of the Bachelor of Education in Music degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Sarah began playing piano and cello ages 8 and 10 respectively through West Lothian Schools Instrumental Service before being encouraged to join the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Junior Academy in her early teens. This fantastic opportunity led to playing with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Scottish Opera’s Connect Orchestra and the Junior Academy’s own orchestras and chamber ensembles. In recent years, Sarah’s focus has been on music-making in an international context and, having been invited to play at the Arnsberg Kunstsommer Cello and Kammermusik masterclasses in various years, she then went on to study at the Royal Irish Academy of Music for the academic year 2014/15. Sarah is now adjusting to graduate life with a big move to the North-West Highlands but is thrilled to play with Rosewood String Quartet whenever possible!
Kirstin Mustard - Cello
Kirstin graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2015 with an honours degree in physiology and sports science and has recently completed her PGDE to become a primary teacher. She also teaches cello privately. Kirstin got her first cello aged 3, and has loved it ever since. Kirstin played cello in the Kelvin Ensemble for four years, as both principal and co-principal, and was the secretary in 2015. She has played in local Moray ensembles and orchestras for many years, as well as national ensembles such as the Universities of Scotland Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Opera Connect Orchestra. Her string quartet experience extends from taking part in the Chamber Music Project as part of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival and performing with small string groups and fiddle groups. She also plays piano, and has spent the last three summers in New York playing piano and teaching music for productions at a summer camp.