Rolf Gjelsten grew up in Canada in a family immersed in Norwegian culture, especially folk dancing. In his teens, he became an accomplished accordionist before diving into cello studies with James Hunter and later Janos Starker. At 22 he joined the Berlin Symphony Orchestra in Germany until his life-long love of chamber music lead him to studies with the LaSalle, Hungarian, Vermeer, Cleveland and Emerson string quartets. As a member of the Laurentian Quartet for a decade he toured internationally, taught at Sarah Lawrence College, and also  played in the New York Piano Trio.  In the meantime, Rolf feels fortunate to have studied for many years with cello greats Zara Nelsova and Bernard Greenhouse.  He enjoys giving masterclasses in solo and chamber music all over the world. Rolf was a member of the NZSQ for 30 years, touring, recording and premiering music and mentoring.  In 2014 he was made a member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to music.

Pianist Michael Endres, born in the Bavarian Alps, gained a Master’s degree at the Juilliard School in New York and studied chamber music under Felix Galimir and with Peter Feuchtwanger in London. He has won many prizes, including the Concours Geza Anda and first prize at the International Schubert Competition. Michael has played in festivals in Europe, America and Asia. He accompanied the legendary German baritone Hermann Prey for many years and has performed with string quartets such as the Fine Arts Quartet, the Artemis Quartet and the New Zealand String Quartet. He has had a distinguished career as Professor of Piano in leading European schools such as “Hanns Eisler”, Berlin and “Barrat Due”, Oslo, and taught from 2009-2014 at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.  Michael has issued more than 30 recordings and has been described by Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe as, “…one of the most interesting pianists recording today.”