The Australian String Quartet has announced that cellist Sharon Grigoryan will leave their ranks in mid-November this year, with Michael Dahlenburg joining the quartet in her place. Dahlenburg toured with the ASQ in 2018 while Grigoryan was on parental leave, so he has already forged a relationship with the other three players Dale Barltrop, Francesca Hiew and Stephen King.

Grigoryan said that she made the decision to move on, after playing with the ASQ for seven years, in order to spend more time with her young family, and continue working on an ongoing project with her husband, classical guitarist Slava Grigoryan.

Sharon Grigoryan is moving on after seven years with ASQ. Photograph © Jacqui Way

Grigoryan (née Draper) married Slava Grigoryan in December 2016, and their son Sebastian was born in July 2018. In December 2019, they recorded an album of duets for cello and guitar called Our Place, released by ABC Classic.

“I can’t begin to express how much gratitude I have for my time with this wonderful group of people at the ASQ,” said Grigoryan. “The last seven years have been filled with joy, challenges, excitement, love, and top music-making. I...