THE OLYMPIA QUARTET
Yevlaliia Yershova [violin]
Ellen Crowley [violin]
Charlie Duff [viola]
Adam Joyce [cello]

The Olympia Quartet was formed in September 2024 in the MTU Cork School of Music, under the tutelage of Christopher Marwood. The quartet consists of violinists Yevlaliia Yershova and Ellen Crowley, violist Charlie Duff, and cellist Adam Joyce. Their shared love for exploring a mix of classical and contemporary music, and their passion for bringing fresh energy and creativity to their performances, draws them together as an ensemble.

Since their formation, the Olympia Quartet have performed at venues in Kinsale, Youghal, Bantry and Kenmare, at the Aula Maxima in University College Cork, in the Whyte Recital Hall in RIAM as part of the EMPOWER Dublin event, and in the MTUCSM Curtis Auditorium. They are delighted to be returning to the West Cork Chamber Music Festival next summer.

Whether performing well-known chamber music works or exploring new compositions, the Olympia Quartet strive to make meaningful connections with their audience through music and showcasing their joy of playing together.

Yevlaliia Yershova began her violin journey at the age of four and graduated from the Stolyarsky Lyceum in Odesa (Ukraine), where she studied from the age of seven. Since moving to Ireland in 2022, she has studied with Elizabeth Charleson and is now in her second year of a Bachelor of Music degree at the MTU Cork School of Music, studying under Katherine Hunka. She is a laureate of several competitions in Ukraine, Ireland, Poland, and the Czech Republic. In 2025, she won the Feis Ceoil Aileen Gore Cup and was selected as one of five finalists for the RDS Music Bursary. As a soloist, Yevlaliia has participated in numerous masterclasses with renowned professors including Gernot Winischhofer (Austria), Zoya Nevgodovska (Germany), and Maurice Sklar (USA), and has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland at the National Concert Hall as part of a masterclass with Maxim Vengerov.

Ellen Crowley began her violin studies at the age of five in the Cork ETB School of Music and is currently in her first year of her Bachelor of Music degree in the MTU Cork School of Music, studying violin under Elizabeth Charleson. Ellen was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland in 2023 and of the Ulster Youth Orchestra in 2023 and 2024 and is currently a member of the Cork Concert Orchestra, the Adult Youth Orchestra of Ireland, the MTUCSM Symphony Orchestra and the Cork Fleischmann Symphony Orchestra. In 2023 Ellen was concertmaster of the Cork Youth Orchestra. She is a multiple prize winner is Feis Maitiú Corcaigh and MTUCSM Concerto and Recital Competitions. Ellen is an avid chamber musician and has been a member of various chamber groups over the years, more recently performing in the MTUCSM Vanbrugh Chamber Music Competition and the Crawford Art Gallery as part of their Music at Midday Series.

Charlie Duff began violin at the age of 4 with Mick Hickey and later Mary Bollard, before transitioning to viola with Simon Aspell, with whom he studies at the MTU Cork School of Music. Charlie has held multiple principal positions in orchestras at home and abroad, such as the Cork Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra of Ireland and the European Youth Orchestra Academy. Charlie has also played in the viola sections of the Ulster Youth Orchestra, CSM Symphony Orchestra, Cork Concert Orchestra, Cork Haydn Orchestra, among others. Charlie is an avid chamber musician, playing with various ensembles and having spent an inspiring week at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival with the Olympia Quartet last summer.

Adam Joyce is currently studying the cello with Christopher Marwood at MTU Cork School of Music. Adam was recently the winner of the prestigious Frank Maher Classical Music Award and Bursary in October 2025. He was awarded the biennial National Concert Hall Young Musician of the Year award and bursary in May of 2023. He has won first prize in numerous competitions at the Feis Ceoil. Adam has played in a variety of orchestras including the 2023 edition of the Royal Concertgebouworkest Young Orchestra, the Junges Philharmonisches Orchester München, the Mahler Student Festival Orchestra, and the European Youth Orchestra Academy, where he was the Pricipal of the Cello Section. Adam is a passionate chamber musician and performs regularly with his Quartet and various other ensembles. He enjoyed an amazing week at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival for the second time last summer as part of the Young Musicians Programme.