EarlyMusicNews.Org

"Rebecca Rosen began learning cello at the age of 9 in Los Angeles. In 2000, after she graduated summa cum laude from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music theory, she began studying baroque cello with Professor Elisabeth LeGuin. Her education was broadened through her participation in intensive baroque workshops in San Francisco, Boston, and Amherst where she enrolled in masterclasses with Phoebe Carrai and Sarah Cunningham.

In 2002, Ms. Rosen was awarded the J. William Fulbright grant to study baroque cello with Jaap ter Linden at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, Netherlands. There she earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in early music performance.

She performs with such distinguished ensembles as Les Musiciens du Louvre, B'Rock, New Dutch Academy, La Scintilla (with Cecilia Bartoli), Al Ayre Espanol, La Stravaganza Köln, and a new orchestra of which she is co-founder, Collegium Musicum Den Haag.

This May, Ms. Rosen will perform two solo suites by J.S. Bach in the opening concert of the Internationale Barocktage Festival in Melk, Austria. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 27, 2008 | Hits: 360

"The Swedish Guitar and Lute Society, SGLS was founded 1968 by Jörgen Rörby. It is a non-profit organization open to all those interested in guitar and lute. A magazine is published four times a year, Gitarr och Luta. The SGLS arranges a course (Liten Gitarrakademi) every year with well known guitar and lute personalities as guest teachers. The Society works towards qualified guitar and lute playing and supports ensembles in varioes ways in Sweden. The SGLS has many members in differents countries and strives for broad international contact. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 324

“Sergei Istomin (violoncello, viola da gamba, musical direction) is much in demand throughout Europe and North America as soloist and chamber musician. His repertoire includes baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary music on both period and modern instruments.

He performs in solo and chamber music concerts with artists such as: forte-pianists Jos van Immerseel, Viviana Sofronitsky and Claire Chevallier and in chamber music with Midori Seiler, Rachel Podger and Gary Cooper and others. He regularly works with Anima Eterna Orchestra, Tafelmusik Orchestra, Il Gardellino Ensemble and many other prominent European and North American groups. Recently he recorded for the Passacaille Records, Belgium the Haydn’s Cello Concertos with Apollo Ensemble. …”

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Added on: Jun 27, 2012 | Hits: 119

"Lynda Sayce is one of the UK's leading lutenists, and is noted both as a performer and as a musical scholar with a strong interest in history, literature and the visual arts. She studied at St. Hugh's College, Oxford, where she matriculated in History and graduated in Music. She then studied lute with Jakob Lindberg at the Royal College of Music, and also took continuo classes with Nigel North. She holds a Ph.D for her research on the history of the theorbo, which is to be published as two books in 2005-6. Lynda has contributed articles to Early Music, the Revised New Grove Dictionary of Music, and the art journal Apollo, and has edited many music publications. She performs regularly with leading period instrument ensembles, including The King's Consort, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Musicians of the Globe. For many years she was lutenist with the award-winning ensemble Charivari Agréable. Lynda appears on more than 100 CD recordings, and has broadcast on radio and TV stations throughout Europe, and in the USA, Japan and South America. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 326

"Alison Crum is one of the best known British exponents of the viol. As teacher, performer, and moving-spirit behind several well-known groups, she travels all over the world giving recitals and lectures, and teaching on summer schools and workshops.

She got her first viol while studying music at Reading University, and went on to study it in Brussels with Wieland Kuijken and, later, with Jordi Savall in Basle. She has made around eighty recordings - mostly with the Consort of Musicke, the Dowland Consort, Musica Antiqua of London, and the Rose Consort of Viols - but also featuring as a soloist on two discs of Marais, and most recently with Laurence Cummings, on a recording of the three Bach gamba sonatas, and playing Italian Virtuoso divisions on renaissance viols with Musica Antiqua on their latest release 'Word Play'.

She is President of the Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain, and is Professor of Viol at Trinity College of Music in London.She directs many courses for viol players, including the International Viol Summer School, attracting players from all over the world, and has had published a series of graded music books centred around her highly acclaimed textbook 'Play the Viol' - now in its fifth reprint. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 18, 2008 | Hits: 375

"After several years of freelancing, Angela, in 1979, acquired a baroque cello and became co-principal cello with the English Baroque Soloists under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Since then she has become a well-known continuo players and concerto soloist with a number of baroque orchestras such as the Brandenburg Consort and the Gabrieli Consort. She has performed at La Scala, Milan, the Sydney Opera House, the Carnegie Hall, the Palace of Versailles, the Presidential Palace in Portugal and ancient ruins of Pompeii and Athens. She performed in Handel's birthplace (Halle, East Germany) on the tercentenary of his birth and in 1989 undertook a world tour visiting the USA, Australia, Japan, Taiwan ad Hong Kong. She also played Principal Cello in the first performance on original instruments at Glyndebourne with Sir Simon Rattle. Her performances have included many radio broadcasts, recordings and television appearances, notably for the Open University. She has contributed articles to Early Music Today magazine and has been awarded and ARAM for he distinguished services to the music profession.

As one of the early pioneers of historical performance practice, her enthusiasm extends beyond the conventional parameters of early music in to the nineteenth century. To this end from 1990-2006 she founded and directed the Revolutionary Drawing Room, a multi-instrumental ensemble with the Revolutionary String Quartet as its core. She has now handed this group over to the leader, Adrian Butterfield.

She is member of Red Priest, the surrealist and theatrical baroque ensemble with Piers Adams (recorder). This group performs about 70 concerts annually, all over the world. It has founded its own recording company, Red Priest Recordings." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 12, 2008 | Hits: 360

"Bill Taylor is a specialist in the performance of ancient harp music from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and is one of very few players investigating these repertoires on medieval gut-strung harps, wire-strung clarsachs and harps with buzzing bray pins.

He is the foremost interpreter of the Robert ap Huw manuscript, containing the earliest harp music from anywhere in Europe, employing the fingernail technique specified in the manuscript, whilst reading from a facsimile of the tablature and using modern copies of historical harps. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 10, 2008 | Hits: 336

“Formed by Lynda Sayce, whose research forms the basis for much of its repertory, Chordophony is a new ensemble bringing together four of Britain's finest lutenists, cutting-edge musicological research, and the only full, matched consort of lutes in the world, to create a revolution in renaissance music. We do not rely on the tiny surviving repertory for lute ensemble, but prefer to take it as a precedent for arranging other works and improvising our own material, as our renaissance colleagues did. Chordophony's players are all experienced and accomplished soloists in their own right, bringing virtuosity and risk-taking improvisatory skills to the concert platform. Personnel vary depending on the project, but the core players are Lynda Sayce (treble lute), Eligio Luis Quinteiro (alto lute), Edward Fitzgibbon (tenor lute) and Richard Sweeney (bass lute). Chordophony has already collaborated with some of the finest ensembles, recording with His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts, and the Purcell Quartet, appearing at the prestigious York Early Music Festival, and recording for BBC Radio 3.“

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Added on: Jul 11, 2009 | Hits: 397

“I have been making Hurdy Gurdies for over 20 years. They are all hand built in my workshop.  ..“

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Added on: Jul 29, 2009 | Hits: 293

"London born gambist Claire Bracher, completed her undergraduate studies with Hille Perl in Bremen Germany, and her postgraduate studies with Richard Boothby and Reiko Ichise at the Royal College of Music (RCM), London.

Claire's postgraduate studies were supported by a Douglas & Hilda Simmonds Study Award and a Hester Laverne Award. At the RCM, Claire received the 'McKenna Baroque Prize'.

With her ensemble 'Amaranthos', she reached the final of The York Early Music Young Artists Competition 2007, and with the trio, 'Musici Infaticabili', Claire won first prize at the 2008 Fenton House Chamber Music Competition.

Claire now teaches the RCM viol consorts, and in 2007 organised the first 'International Festival of Viols', held at The Royal College of Music.

Claire has performed with many renowned early music specialists, including; Ton Koopman, Hille Perl, Harry van der Kamp, Harold Vogel and Peter Holtslag. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 22, 2008 | Hits: 388

“  I studied instrument making for five years at the London Guildhall University (the former London College of Furniture).  During this time I trained firstly to make early plucked instruments (lutes, baroque guitars) then moved on to hurdy-gurdy making in the last three years of my course.  This led to me obtaining a degree in Music Technology in 1999.

After college, I went on to further my knowledge by joining a woodcarving and sculpture class for two years with Mike Leman, and by working in London for leading boxmaker Andrew Crawford.

I set up my own workshop in Ramsgate during the summer of 2001, and have been a full time hurdy-gurdy maker ever since. I share my workshop with my husband the mandolin & bouzouki maker Kai Tönjes.”

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Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 400

“Dante Ferrara specialises in music, song and entertainment of renaissance Europe.

Professional since 1984, he is established throughout the UK for all kinds of themed events such as festivals, weddings, banquets, charity events, school workshops and concerts.

He also co-ordinates other similar performers, all of high standard, to ensure that any event includes the best available.

The Dante Ferrara website complements his full information pack which includes a sample CD. Dante will be pleased to send a copy on request. You can also contact Dante Ferrara to check availability and to discuss your requirements by leaving your details in the contact section of the site.”

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Added on: Dec 28, 2011 | Hits: 187

"David Parsons studied at the Royal College of Music as a pupil of Diana Poulton. Since his Wigmore Hall debut he has performed at many of the principal European Early Music events as well as touring in the USA. His recent recordings include a critically acclaimed CD of Elizabethan Lute Music from Robert Dowland’s Varietie of Lute Lessons (Metronome) which was followed by the Haydn Lute Trio’s recording of 18th century German Galant chamber music (ASV). Most recently he has recorded a programme of Guitar Music and Songs by the Catalan guitarist and composer, Fernando Sor together with soprano Evelyn Tubb. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 17, 2008 | Hits: 312

“I am a viol player and teacher based on the South Cumbria/North Lancashire border. I travel all over the North West of England performing and teaching - both private pupils and also viol consort coaching. Performing can either be as a soloist or as a bass continuo player.

I am also a renaissance and baroque dancer and am much in demand as a dance teacher and choreographer. My particular interest is the relationship between the dance and music.

In addition to the teaching already mentioned I lecture for adult education classes, run early music workshops, teach recorders and present Tudor workshops for schools. ..“ Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 19, 2009 | Hits: 290

"Like many lute players, Liz Kenny started out by playing the classical guitar. As a junior at the Royal Academy of Music she received intelligent guidance from Michael Lewin (now a colleague there) and came within reach of London concert life. Her first encounter with the lute was hearing a performance by Nigel North - later to be an inspiring teacher. After going down the byways of an English degree and back to the guitar, she returned to this sound. Discovering everything from the subtle feeling of playing on double strung lutes to the freedom of improvisation that playing continuo offered was an exhilarating and at times frustrating experience. Just as well she didn't know at the outset that playing the lute for a living would entail mastering and giving houseroom to a dozen different instruments …

Now her repertoire extends from the early 16th century through the domain of the theorbo and baroque lute to the 19th century, thanks to stumbling across a beautiful small French romantic guitar at a London dealer's.

Her career has always had a strong international bias since it began during the recession in the UK in the early 90s. She went to Paris instead and began a long association with William Christie's Les Arts Florissants, which has had a big influence on her performing style. Playing with an unusually diverse range of ensembles in France, Germany and the USA as well as at home has given her a wide perspective on different ways of making music. She is now committed to drawing on this in devising her own programmes. Groups she has appeared with regularly in over a decade of touring include Les Arts Florissants, Concerto Vocale, The English Concert, Tragicomedia, Teatro Lirico, Tira mi sú, The Gabrieli Consort, The Taverner Consort, The Parley of Instruments, The King's Consort, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Concordia. ..." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 16, 2008 | Hits: 422

“Having initially studied classical guitar at Napier University, Gordon Ferries went on to study at the RSAMD where he specialised in lute and early guitar music. He has now established himself as one of the UK's leading exponents of the baroque guitar. Gordon has worked for both television and radio: arranging and performing music for Radio 4; featuring on 'Scotland's Music' with Concerto Caledonia, and for BBC 2 television. He has performed in venues and festivals across the UK both as a soloist and in ensemble and has appeared with The Scottish Ensemble, The Scottish Early Music Consort and the Edinburgh Quartet, amongst others. Gordon directs his own group, Symphonie des Plaisir.

Gordon has been awarded two grants from the Scottish Arts Council towards study at the Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, reasearching the baroque guitar; the fruits of which appear on his recordings. He lectures in lute and guitar at Napier University in Edinburgh, and is involved in teaching young people in many musical styles.“

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Added on: Jul 24, 2009 | Hits: 710

"Named after the 19th century baryton virtuoso Vincenzo Hauschka, the Hauschka Ensemble has been amazing audiences for the last ten years. It specialises in the remarkable repertoire of works for self-accompanied baryton, from 17th century works in modified lute tablature through to contemporary works written especially for them. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 16, 2008 | Hits: 666

"Ibrahim (Ibi) Aziz was born in Malaysia and began music lessons when he was eight. In 1999 he went to Trinity College of Music London to study the viola da gamba under Alison Crum. During his studies he was also privately taught by Sarah Cunningham, and attended various master classes in the UK and Europe given by Jordi Savall and Wieland Kuijken. He is the recipient of many awards and prizes: while at Trinity he became the first winner of their Early Music Prize, and was the first person in the college’s history to win its prestigious Gold Medal on a period instrument over all other mainstream instrumentalists. Mr Aziz now divides his time performing and teaching. He plays with a number of period groups and ensembles in the UK and abroad, most notably Sestina Consort, Charivari Agreable and The Maresienne Consort, with whom he has recorded for Signum Classics. He is a member of the internationally acclaimed Rose Consort Consort of Viols. As a young player he recently helped found ‘Chelys’, a young professional viol consort based in the UK. Mr Aziz is the viol tutor at Morley College, London, and regularly teaches at The Dartington International Summer School, The Benslow Early Music Courses, The Ascot (and Irish) Early Music Courses, among others. Recent engagements include appearances in concerts at the City of London Festival, The York Early Music Festival, Italy, Ireland and on BBC Radio 3's In Tune with Sean Rafferty. Forthcoming events include performances in Switzerland, at the Brighton Festival, Greenwich International Early Music Festival, The Snape Maltings concert hall in Aldeburgh, and a broadcast on the Early Music Show on BBC Radio 3 with The Rose Consort of Viols. Mr. Aziz plays a seven-string bass viola da gamba by Jane Julier after Nicholas Bertrand, and a treble viola da gamba by Kazuya Sato. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 795

"The American-born lutenist Jacob Heringman studied with Jakob Lindberg at the Royal College of Music in London, and later with Pat O'Brien in New York.

Based in England since 1987, he has established himself as one of the world’s most respected and most innovative solo lute players, and as a much sought-after ensemble player performing regularly throughout Europe and North and South America, and making many CD and radio recordings of medieval and renaissance music with leading English ensembles, including The Rose Consort of Viols, Fretwork, Musicians of the Globe, The Kings Singers, The New London Consort, Virelai and The Dufay Collective.

As a continuo player, Jacob Heringman performed and recorded with The King's Consort, The English Baroque Soloists, The Parley of Instruments and The Taverner Consort, among others. In 1993, he left the continuo circuit to focus on renaissance solo and ensemble projects.

Jacob's playing is also to be heard on the soundtracks of many Hollywood films (most recently, Harry Potter III and Kingdom of Heaven), and occasionally on pop albums (most recently, Joni Mitchell's Travelogue). " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 417

"Jakob Lindberg was born in Djursholm in Sweden and developed his first passionate interest in music through the Beatles. He started to play the guitar and soon became interested in the classical repertoire. From the age of fourteen he studied with Jörgen Rörby who also gave him his first tuition on the lute. After reading music at Stockholm University he went to London to study at the Royal College of Music. Here he further developed his knowledge of the lute repertoire under the guidance of Diana Poulton and decided towards the end of his studies to concentrate on renaissance and baroque music. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 412

"John Hollowayis o­ne of the pioneers of the modern “Early Music” movement in Britain. He played his first public concert in aid of Hungarian refugees in 1956. He was 8 years old. After a conventional training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and various international competitions, he worked as a freelance in London: throughout the 1970s he combined concert-mastering and managing the orchestra of Kent Opera, appearances with all the prominent chamber-orchestras in London, contemporary music and string quartet concerts, and, after encountering Sigiswald Kuijken in 1972, performances o­n Baroque violin" ...

Added on: Jul 13, 2005 | Hits: 506

“I have been making instruments for the past fifteen years, at first at instrument making courses in the school holidays in Germany, then working with a harpmaker in Scotland for six months prior to joining the London College of Furniture in 1992.  After a six year training in making baroque instruments, violins and guitars/mandolins I graduated with an honours degree in 1998.  I moved to Ramsgate, Kent in the south east of England in 2002 where I share a workshop with my wife, the hurdy-gurdy maker Claire Dugué.

I mostly make mandolins, irish bouzoukis, mandolas and citterns for a wide range of players in various countries.“

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Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 405

"Manuel Minguillón was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. He obtained his bachelor degree in guitar performance from the Conservatorio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial where he studied with Gerardo Arriaga. Captivated by the music of the Renaissance, he continued his studies in Early Plucked Instruments at the Conservatorio de Arturo Soria, in Madrid, with Jesús Sanchez. Subsequently, Minguillón studied in Seville with Juan Carlos Rivera at the Conservatory Manuel Castillo, and thereafter perfected his skills under the guidance of master lutenist Hopkinson Smith in Basel, Switzerland. In 2005 he completed a Master's Degree in Lute and Early Plucked Instruments with the world renowned lutenist Paul O'Dette at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York where he is currently completing a Doctorate in Musical Arts. Since 2004 he has served as Professor O'Dette's primary teaching assistant for lute at the Eastman School. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 03, 2008 | Hits: 378

“ .. . She now performs widely as a viola da gamba soloist, having appeared with the Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra, the Essex Baroque Orchestra, the Lecosaldi Ensemble, the Choir of St. John’s College Cambridge and the Sweelinck Ensemble among others. In 1995 she performed a viola da gamba concerto by Leonard Salzedo at Benslow Hills Music Trust in the presence of the composer.
Since 2000 Mary Pells has worked for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music as an examiner and as a mentor on their Certificate of Teaching course. ..“ Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 19, 2009 | Hits: 376

"Matthew Wadsworth, lutenist, is in great demand as a soloist, continuo player and chamber musician. He has appeared at major festivals in the UK, Europe and North America and can frequently be heard on radio, both in live performance and on disc.

Matthew has recorded for Avie, Deux-Elles, Linn and EMI Records. His CDs, “When Laura Smiles”, (featuring music by Phillip Rosseter), “Away Delights” (Robert Johnson) and “14 Silver Strings” (Kapsberger and Piccinini) have received international critical acclaim.

Matthew is delighted to have recently been taken on as a solo artist by Channel Classics, and their first collaboration, ‘Masters of the Lute’ was Editor’s Choice in Gramophone Magazine, December 2006. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 16, 2008 | Hits: 498