ABOUT US
The Nasia Quartet brings together Karen Matoba and Audrey Au on violin, Karis Lee on viola and Vincent Chen on cello, formed at the Royal College of Music, London, where they are currently based.
The name Nasia comes from Greek origins meaning “immortal” – a concept that reflects the timeless nature of chamber music. Like the string quartet tradition itself enduring across centuries while constantly renewed through new voices and interpretations, the Nasia Quartet embraces both tradition and new discoveries. Alongside the great cornerstones of the repertoire, our quartet’s vision is to celebrate the enduring spirit of music in all its diversity.
Since the ensemble’s formation, the Nasia Quartet has already given performances around Europe, including at the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival in Italy, and Klassik I Sentrum Festival in Germany. Furthermore, recent notable performances include performing Mozart’s Dissonance String Quartet with the Marmen Quartet, who they also receive regular guidance from. The quartet has also enjoyed mentorship from various chamber professionals such as Heime Müller, Adrian Brendel, Jan Bjøranger, Bruno Giuranna and Simone Gramaglia (Quartetto di Cremona), as well as members of the Calathea, Piatti, Sacconi and Brodsky Quartets. The Nasia Quartet is grateful from the support from the Royal College of Music, where they have been invited to perform at the Chamber Music Festival, has given regular performances at the St Mary Abbott’s Church and the RCM Museum, and invited to perform alongside the Marmen Quartet. Other exciting engagements include performances at Mirepoix Cathedral in France, St Pancras Church and Stowe School in the UK, and at the Lake District Music Festival Spring Series, coming up in 2027.
Karen Matoba
Karen Matoba is a Japanese-Australian violinist, currently undertaking a Master of Performance degree at the Royal College of Music (RCM), under Professor Emily Sun. Prior to this, Karen was based in Perth, Western Australia, where she completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Western Australia with Shaun Lee-Chen and Semra Lee - During this time, she was the recipient of the Delano Scholarship, the Audience Prize in the VOSE Concerto Competition, and a three-time recipient of the Flora Bunnings Prize for Chamber Music, and played regularly with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
Since moving to London in September 2024, Karen has served as concertmaster for the RCM Philharmonic Orchestra and the Nova Philharmonia, and has had the privilege of participating in festivals such as the Kronberg Academy Festival and performing in masterclasses across Europe, playing for pedagogues and performers including Ana Chumachenco, Frederick Oland (Danish String Quartet) and Mark Gothoni.
Karen plays on a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin, kindly on loan from the Royal College of Music.
Audrey Au
Born in Hong Kong, Audrey Au began her violin studies under the guidance of her father before continuing with Alexandra Kouznetsova and Andrea Zanchetta.
After relocating to the United Kingdom, she studied with Chris Windass at Stowe School and received additional lessons from Zhang Yang of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also studied with Professor Yamei Yu of the Robert Schumann Hochschule and Professor Remus Azoitei at the Royal Academy of Music. Audrey is currently pursuing her studies at the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Professor Radu Blidar.
During her time at Stowe School, Audrey frequently performed at the Milton Keynes Festival of Music, where she received multiple accolades, including the Musician of the Year award in 2017. She also appeared as a soloist with the Stowe Symphony Orchestra, performing concertos by Mozart, Vivaldi, and Bruch, and presented a solo recital. Looking ahead, Audrey is engaged to make her public recital debut at The Leighton Buzzard Library and Theatre in 2026.
Karis Lee
American-born violist Karis Lee is a second-year Master’s student at the Royal College of Music (RCM), currently studying with Jonathan Barritt. She received her Bachelor’s degree in music performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where she studied with Jonathan Moerschel.
At UCSB, Lee was the Principal Violist of the UCSB Chamber Orchestra and a member of the UCSB Undergraduate Honors Quartet. Through the UCSB Chamber Music Program, Lee performed in masterclasses for the Attacca Quartet, Callisto Quartet, Danish String Quartet, and the Juilliard String Quartet. She was also a member of the UCSB Ensemble for Contemporary Music, where she premiered solo and chamber works by twenty-first- century composers. From 2021-2024, she was a recipient of the UCSB Department of Music Opus One Scholarship.
Karis has performed at several music festivals across the USA and in Europe, including the Virtuoso & Bel Canto Festival, the Pacific Crest Music Festival, and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival. In 2022, Lee performed in the ‘Cultural Intertwining Project,’ a musical exchange program between performance and composition students from Santa Barbara and Montenegro. Coached by Timea Kalmar, Lee performed with a string quartet at the Kotor Art Music Festival in Kotor, Montenegro, and in community presentations at UC Santa Barbara and the Music Academy of the West.
At the Royal College of Music, Lee performs with the RCM Symphony Orchestra and the RCM Philharmonic Orchestra. She was also the winner of the 2025 RCM Viola Competition.
Vincent Chen
Vincent Chen, a New Zealand-born cellist of Taiwanese heritage, completed a Bachelor of Music under the tutelage of James Yoo at the University of Auckland while concurrently pursuing an engineering degree, and is now a Master of Performance (MPerf) student at the Royal College of Music studying with Amanda Truelove. As a soloist, he has performed with the Nelson Symphony and has participated in masterclasses with renowned musicians throughout Europe. Passionate about chamber music, Vincent won the 2021 ROSL/Pettman Chamber Music Scholarship, performing throughout the United Kingdom, premiering a composition by Dame Gillian Whitehead, and working closely with the Takács Quartet. He was also an Adam Summer School scholar and was invited to perform at the 2024 Adam Festival with the Troubadour Quartet.
Vincent is the cellist of the Nasia Quartet, formed in September 2024 at the Royal College of Music and based in London. Since its formation, the quartet has performed across Europe, including appearances at the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival in Italy and the Klassik I Sentrum Festival in Germany. The ensemble has received regular guidance from the Marmen Quartet and mentorship from distinguished chamber musicians including Heime Müller, Adrian Brendel, Jan Bjøranger, Bruno Giuranna, and Simone Gramaglia of Quartetto di Cremona, as well as members of the Calathea, Piatti, Sacconi, and Brodsky Quartets. The Nasia Quartet is committed to championing lesser-known repertoire alongside the great cornerstones of the string quartet tradition, reflecting a shared dedication to both discovery and artistic excellence.