Founded in 2018 at the Sydney Conservatorium, the Ash Quartet (Marrianne Liu, Eva Li, Dana Lee and Sebastian Mansell) has since performed throughout Australia and overseas.

Recipients of the Westheimer Fellowship in 2021, the quartet has taken out first place in the chamber division at Verão Clássico 2019 (Lisbon) and was a finalist in the Queensland International Chamber Music Competition in the same year.

The quartet has been mentored by members of the Emerson, Hagen, Jerusalem, Doric and Goldmund Quartets and has performed at the Crossroads Festival, Kendall String Festival, as well as giving private performances for clients such as The Australian Club, The Women's Club and the German Consulate

Born in Melbourne, Marrianne completed her Masters of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium under Professor Alice Waten where she was the recipient of the Ted and Susan Meller Memorial Scholarship. As a soloist, she has participated in masterclasses with renowned violinists including Christian Tetzlaff, Ilya Kaler, Frank Huang and Stanley Ritchie and was the 2018 winner of the Sydney Conservatorium Concerto Competition. She has travelled and performed internationally as a chamber musician, including at the Mimir Chamber Music Festival in Texas. Also passionate about string pedagogy, she works as teaching assistant to the violinist and pedagogue, Evgeny Sorkin. Marrianne plays on a 2021 Martin Haupt violin.

Originally from the Central Coast, Eva learnt with Suzanne Borrett before moving to Sydney and graduating with her Masters of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium, studying under Professor Alice Waten. Eva is an accomplished orchestral and chamber musician, having served as concertmaster with the Central Coast Chamber Orchestra and performing for Coast Opera Australia, Symphony Central Coast and Crossroads Chamber Music Festival. She was a recipient of numerous awards from the Sydney Conservatorium and Bouddi Arts Foundation, including the Henderson Travellers Scholarship which funded her travel to Europe to work with many prominent string quartet tutors. As a violin teacher, she tutors across many schools in Sydney as well as regularly putting on her own studio concerts. Eva plays on a 1890 Louis Collenot violin.

Dana grew up in Sydney, graduating with her Bachelor of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium under Stuart Johnson and Roger Benedict. She is a highly experienced orchestral and chamber musician, having completed two years of Fellowship in 2020/21 with both the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. In 2022, she worked closely with Opera Australia Orchestra as part of the inaugural Fellowship at the Sydney Opera House to perform in many opera and ballet productions. Dana is involved in a wide variety of freelance work which include chamber music tours, education outreaches, studio sessions, cross-genre collaborations and commercial scores. As a casual musician of orchestras across Australia, she frequently travels interstate for tours and performances.

Sebastian completed his Masters of Music at the Sydney Conservatorium with the Flora Jean Ferris Scholarship under Julian Smiles, after graduating from the Elder Conservatorium in his home city Adelaide with First Class Honours. As the recipient of the EMR Scholarship, he travelled to the UK and undertook lessons with Rebecca Gilliver, David Watkin and Pei-Jee Ng. A versatile cellist, he has performed with the State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide Festival Orchestra, as a concerto soloist with the Unley and Norwood Symphony Orchestras, and has given recitals at the invitation of His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le for members of the Royal Family. Sebastian is also a passionate music educator, currently teaching at Ravenswood School for Girls and MLC in Sydney.