The Ast Quartet, whose name in German means "Branch", conveys the message to stretch their music into the world just like branches in growth. Formed in September 2021, the quartet consists of four young, passionate Korean women residing in Germany.

 

They were awarded the special prize for the best performance of a new commissioned string quartet by Gérard Pesson at the 13th Premio Paolo Borciani competition and were semi-finalists at the 2023 Concours de Genève. Shortly after their formation, they performed concerts at the Berliner Philharmonie, the Japanese Osaka Chamber Music Horizon, the Mozart Festival of HfM Hanns Eisler Berlin, the 50th Anniversary Summer Festival of HMTM Hannover, the Crescendo Festival of the Universität der Künste Berlin, and Music in PyeongChang. 

 

They received invitations to the 2024 Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker and the 2024 McGill International String Quartet Academy (MISQA) as artists. They were also selected as scholarship recipients by Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland and received an invitation to the Hohenloher Kultursommer 2024. The Ast Quartet has been awarded the Ernst von Siemens Music Scholarship and the scholarship from the Förderkreis der HMTMH e.V. 

 

The quartet members have gathered many musical inspirations from Corina Belcea, Kuss Quartet, Eberhard Feltz, Heime Müller, Wolfgang Redik and Tabea Zimmermann through masterclasses. Ast Quartet currently studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover with Professor Oliver Wille.

​

The quartet is a member of the Chamber Music Association “Le Dimore del Quartetto” .