A PEEBLES violinist has added a further string to his bow by winning the highly coveted Trondheim Chamber Music competition.

Colin Stobie is part of the Maxwell Quartet.

And earlier this month the foursome became the first UK musicians to ever win a major prize at the Norwegian international music festival.

Colin played with the Peebles Orchestra and performed at Music in Peebles concerts before heading to London to study at the Royal College of Music in London.

And one his first public performances was busking on the town's High Street to raise money for the Eastgate Theatre when he was only eight years old.

The 26-year-old is now regarded as one of the most creative and compelling violinists and chamber musicians of his generation.

He has performed as concerto soloist to critical acclaim across Europe and further afield, with orchestras including Musica Alta Ripa, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, La Serenissima, Scottish Ensemble and the Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra.

But it is with the Maxwell Quartet, which he joined in 2013, as first violinist that Colin has raised the bar even higher.

Along with George Smith, Elliot Perks and Duncan Strachan, the Maxwell Quartet were the official Prizewinner as well as the Audience Prizewinner at the ninth Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition.

Their performance was hailed as “brilliantly fresh, unexpected and exhilarating” by The Herald.

And they are now firmly regarded as one of Britain's finest string quartets.

Following their success at Trondheim, the quartet's 2017-18 season will take them across Europe for performances in Denmark, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.

But Colin will be taking a few days away from rehearsals with a visit home to Peebles this weekend.