In 2011, Xander received a Music and Dance scheme Scholarship to study violin and piano at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music. Initially under the tutelage of Ulla Benz, he began learning with Steven Wilkie in 2013.

He found early success winning the Rotary International Great Britain and Ireland Young Musician of the year competition, and was a recipient of the Robinson Bursary by the Future Talent Organisation in 2016.

In 2017, Xander was awarded the Albert and Eugenie Frost Trust Scholarship to attend the RNCM. He has gone on to perform as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the UK and in Europe, with highlights including a tour of Scotland, performance at Wigmore Hall, recitals in Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, and performances of Bruch and Mendelssohn violin concertos. In June 2024 he was awarded third prize with the Elmore Quartet at the prestigious Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Upon graduating, he became a Junior Fellow in Chamber Music at the RNCM as a member of the Elmore Quartet, a position he enjoyed for two years before being appointed as a Hans Keller Chamber Fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. During this time, he has been invited with the Elmore Quartet to attend the ‘Casa del Quartetto’ Residency Programme (Reggio Emilia) to learn with Quatuor Danel, the ‘Crans Montana Classics’ Residency Programme (Crans Montana) to learn with the Jerusalem Quartet, and most recently the ‘Vibre!’ Residency Programme (Bordeaux) to learn with Quatuor Modigliani.

Xander performs on a Lorenzo & Tomaso Carcassi violin from Florence, 1750, generously on loan from The Harrison-Frank Family Foundation.

elmorequartet.com