The days of the Elias Quartet in Sheffield are numbered and Guy Eshed's could be as Ensemble 360 face major changes with an almost new look from next summer.

The Elias return to complete autonomy after next year's Music in the Round May Festival and, more imminently, the Israeli flautist is due to take up the position of principal flute with the Berlin Staatskapelle (Berlin State Opera) for a year to cover maternity leave.

In the latest Friends of MitR Newsletter, Guy describes the temporary appointment as a "rare and exciting opportunity" and says it is difficult not to accept it.

Absolutely!

Second only to the Berlin Philharmonic in the German city, the Staatskapelle orchestra's prestige is immense and it also has a distinguished international concert hall career.

At present the flautist is on tour with Daniel Barenboim's superb West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and it was Barenboim, music director at the Staatskapelle since 1992, who asked Guy to audition for its orchestra.

"The fact that Maestro Barenboim thought of me as his choice for this position is very flattering," he writes in the Friends' Newsletter, "but when I was actually chosen by the whole orchestra to fill the position for the next year, it was a very special feeling."

Guy, a music student in Berlin six years ago, goes on to say: "Unfortunately, the extremely busy and hectic schedule of the orchestra will hardly allow me to play with the Ensemble next season.

"Although it was a very hard decision, we all agreed that the best solution for everyone will be to take a year off from the group's activities."

He will, however, be able to present his intriguing 'desert island' concert of Messiaen, Debussy and Schubert with Ensemble 360 which opens Music in the Round's season on October 3.

There remains a nagging question: What happens if the lady he is covering for decides to exercise her option and not return?

Even if she does, the high-profile position and Guy's outstanding flute artistry will open similar windows of opportunity.

A joint letter from the Elias Quartet in same newsletter contains the sentence: "Sadly, we will be leaving Ensemble 360 in summer 2009."

They describe their three-year Sheffield residency to date as part of Ensemble 360 as being "extremely exciting and rewarding years" and the formation of Ensemble 360 "an incredible journey to be part of."

However, "juggling the demands of developing" both as a quartet and the ensemble for 10 months of the year for the last three years, while having been "an incredibly intense experience", has taken its toll.

"It's hard to put into words how all-consuming that has been and how much pressure has been put on all four of us as individuals.



"As much as we have gained from, and loved this experience, what we need now is space to pursue the quartet and find time for ourselves as people."

Although not news we want to hear, it is maybe not totally surprising.

The Elias arrived as an established string quartet, albeit a developing one with tremendous potential.

The promise has blossomed magnificently, perhaps speeded along by the extensive workload (probably too heavy, reading between the lines) they have undertaken.

Along with pianist Tim Horton, they have been the backbone, the ever-presents in Ensemble 360's development as one of the most exciting groups of its kind in the country.

The Elias are an exciting string quartet, retaining the musicianly feel and personality they have exhibited since the beginning, with scope to get better still in an independent existence.

However, we still have them for about 10 months and the quartet have two concerts in MitR's autumn season on October 15 and November 27.

They are also involved in two of the three desert island concerts: Guy's for Schubert's String Quintet, and throughout Tim Horton's on December 4.

Advance tickets for all Music in the Round concerts at their temporary home in the Upper Chapel in Norfolk Street continue to available from the Sheffield Theatres box office now in the Lyceum.

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