Violinist Daniel Pioro launches new contemporary music collective at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

As associate artist, Pioro will work intensively with the newly formed Studio Collective - four cellists, two violinists and three viola players, as well as four composers - over the next 12 months. The line-up will change every year.

Pioro is an advocate of new and experimental music. He has performed as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the London Contemporary Orchestra, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

He said: 'This is not just creating a group to play nice music. ...  Studio Collective is a group that exists to see how far we can push music, to explore how the music we make can be a work of art in its truest sense, treated with the same awe and preciousness as art in a gallery.

'It’s collaborating with people from other creative backgrounds, such as dancers and visual artists, and working in responsive and reflective ways to create our own music inspired by original works, in a format that hasn’t been heard before. It’s showing the students that there are no limits, and challenging them to think deeper. They’re the ones who will decide how far to take things.'

Dr Gordon Munro, director of music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: 'Daniel Pioro is an exceptional musician and we warmly welcome him as our new associate artist in contemporary string performance. Daniel’s concept for Studio Collective is an exciting one, driven by a love of new music, creative exploration and collaboration. Our string players and composers will work alongside Daniel in this special project, where they’ll benefit from his insight and guidance. We wish Studio Collective all the best and can’t wait to hear its output.'