Founded in 1959 by Professor Sydney Newman, the Edinburgh Quartet is a Resident Ensemble at the Ian Tomlin School of Music, Napier University and at the Department of Music, University of Glasgow. It also plays an important role in the musical activities of the University of Edinburgh.

The Quartet's repertoire is extensive and largely committed to Scottish chamber music from the 18th century onwards. The players have been closely associated with composers such as Tippett, Lutyens, Gal, Crawford, Leighton, Wilson and James Macmillan.

The Quartet presents a regular concerts series in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and major works of the quartet repertoire are toured to the remotest locations of the Highlands and Islands. The Quartet are also very involved in educational work, doing frequent workshops, masterclasses and summer schools.

Foreign tours are a frequent feature of the Quartet's season. In addition to regular journeys to European countries and USA, the Edinburgh Quartet toured extensively to South America and the Caribbean in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1980s saw the Quartet regularly playing behind the Iron Curtain, and in the Middle East. In recent years the Quartet has toured regularly to Malta and Cyprus. There is a a planned tour to France in 2006 which will present a special programme of Scottish and French music.