"The Nash are chamber music royalty." The Sunday Times
The Nash Ensemble, Resident Chamber Ensemble at Wigmore Hall, is regarded as a standard-bearer of British music making and has been acclaimed by The Independent as a "chamber music group beyond compare". The Nash Ensemble has built up a remarkable reputation as one of Britain's finest ensembles and, through the dedication of its founder and artistic director Amelia Freedman and the calibre of its players, has gained a similar reputation all over the world. The repertoire is vast and the imaginative, innovative and unusual programmes are as finely architectured as the beautiful Nash terraces in London from which the group takes its name. The Nash Ensemble is not classically restricted; it performs with equal sensitivity and musicality works from Mozart to the avant-garde. Indeed, it is one of the major contributors towards the recognition and promotion of many leading composers through first performances to date of over 315 new works, including 235 commissions of pieces especially written for the ensemble, providing a legacy for generations to come.
Since 1979 the Ensemble has presented a celebrated series every season at Wigmore Hall exploring the many facets of the chamber music repertoire. To mark the 60th anniversary its founder and artistic director Amelia Freedman has devised a series comprising of some of the group's favourite works of the genre. Stimulating programmes, superb artists and a commitment to the finest composers of our time through extensive commissioning lie at the heart of the 2024/25 season. To celebrate the 60th anniversary season the Ensemble has commissioned a garland of new works from eight composers with whom the group has had a long association: Colin Matthews, David Matthews, Mark-Anthony Turnage, John Casken, Simon Holt, Helen Grime, Huw Watkins and Julian Anderson. In addition the Nash Inventions concert on March 18th 2025 includes past commissions by the great American composer Elliott Carter and Peter Maxwell Davies’s masterwork his string quintet, written especially for the ensemble.
An impressive collection of recordings illustrates the same varied and colourful combination of classical
masterpieces, little-known neglected gems and important contemporary works. Recent recordings for Hyperion
include chamber works by Bruch and Ferdinand Ries, String Sextets by Tchaikovsky and Korngold, as well as a
recording of works by Debussy which will be released as part of the Ensemble’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
Contemporary recordings include chamber works by Harrison Birtwistle, John Pickard and Julian Anderson.
"Michael Tippett used to say that the world was divided between those on the side of the angels and those that
were not. In the case of Amelia Freedman and the Nash Ensemble there is no question they stand well over the line
of good and are blessed with wings of gold… without question the Nash are certainly leading contenders for top of
the league, unique in its dedication to the old and the new."
Sir Harrison Birtwistle
The ensemble has won many awards including The Edinburgh Festival Critics' music award for general artistic excellence, a medal given by the government of the then Czechoslovakia for services to Czech music, and the Wavenden Allmusic Award for programming and performance. In 1989 and 2002 the group won The Royal Philharmonic Society's small ensemble award "for the breadth of its taste and its immaculate performance of a wide range of music". In 2021 the Nash won the Gramophone Classical Music Award in the contemporary music section, for its recording of works by the composer John Pickard.
The Nash Ensemble's artistic director Amelia Freedman has received many honours including an FRAM, and the MBE which was conferred on her in 1989. In 1996 she was appointed Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite by the President of France for her services to French Music. She has also been awarded the prestigious Leslie Boosey Award by the Performing Right Society and the Royal Philharmonic Society for her unfailing commitment to the commissioning and programming of classical music, as well as her support for young composers throughout her career. In June 2006 she was awarded the CBE in the Queen's birthday honours for her services to classical music, and in 2018, the honorary title of Doctor of Letters was conferred on her by Bath Spa University for her distinguished contribution to music.
Amelia Freedman was Head of Classical Music at Southbank Centre from 1995 to 2006