Qualia Ensemble

Formed at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Qualia Ensemble features husband-and-wife duo Lucas Levin and Yi-Shing Cheng.

From their new home of Melbourne, Australia, they are bringing their extensive chamber music experience to the less-frequently heard beauty of the viola-piano duo repertoire.

Their credits are extensive, with prizes for solo playing, piano trios, quartets and Leider, performances in countries all the way from China, to the USA, to Norway, live radio broadcasts, and masterclasses with pre-eminent performers and educators such as Alfred Brendel, Imogen Cooper, Frank Huang, György Pauk, Maxim Rysanov, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Maxim Vengerov, and many others.

Lucas's past teachers include Paul Silverthorne, Hélène Clément, Jon Thorne, Simon Oswell and Julian Quirit. He plays a 1992 American viola made by Tetsuo Matsuda in Chicago.

Yi-Shing is a former chamber music fellow and resident artist at the Royal Academy of Music and Birmingham Conservatoire. She studied under the tutelage of Michael Dussek, and also enjoys song accompaniment, having given many recitals alongside vocalists.