Douglas Beilman

A native of Kansas, USA, Douglas Beilman studied with Dorothy Delay and Hyo Kang at the Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory of Music. He then completed his Master of Music degree with Isadore Tinkleman at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Before joining the New Zealand String Quartet in 1989 he was first violinist of the Sierra String Quartet, the first resident quartet at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Chamber Music Centre. The Sierra Quartet was a prizewinner at the 1988 Portsmouth International String Quartet Competition (now the London International String Quartet Competition) and performed widely throughout the USA. He spent 26 years with the New Zealand String Quartet.

Douglas was a co-founder of the Adam New Zealand Festival of Chamber Music and was its artistic Director until 2001. He has been soloist and guest leader of the NZ Chamber Orchestra and has performed concertos with other New Zealand orchestras. As both a founding member of the 20th century ensemble CadeNZa and as an individual he has participated extensively in premiere performances of New Zealand and international compositions.