Andreas Böhlen – Recorder
Born in Würzburg in 1983, Andreas Böhlen moved to Northern Germany in 1988. He began playing recorder at the age of six, and started alto saxophone soon after. Since beginning music he was involved in many different ensembles and bands throughout North and South Germany. While at high school he received lessons in both instruments at the conservatories of Bremen and Cologne, and was awarded many prizes at German competitions including “Jugend musiziert” and “Jugend Jazzt”. From 2003-2007 he completed a Bachelor degree in music at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, studying recorder with Walter van Hauwe and Paul Leenhouts. During this period he also majored in jazz saxophone. In Amsterdam Andreas founded several of his own chamber music groups for early music, contemporary music and jazz, namely Theatrum Affectuum (violin, recorder, cello and harpsichord), Duo Obelix (recorder and percussion) and Alkitran (bass clarinet, recorder, double bass and percussion), and he is a member of The Royal Wind Music. He specialises in improvisation in various musical styles. Andreas has collaborated with different radio stations in Germany and Holland, and performs extensively throughout Europe. Andreas is currently living in Basel studying for Masters degrees in both early music improvisation at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and in jazz at the Musik Akademie. For more details see www.andreasboehlen.de.
Amy Power – Recorder/ Baroque Oboe/ Shawm
Amy was born in Armidale, Australia, in 1980. She completed a Bachelor Degree with First-Class Honours in music at the University of Melbourne, studying recorder with Ruth Wilkinson. As a student she received such awards as the Llorna-Lloyd Green scholarship for music. After graduating in 2002 she moved to The Netherlands to undertake further studies in recorder at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Walter van Hauwe. In 2009 she completed her Masters Degree with high results in baroque wind playing, focusing on historical oboe with Alfredo Bernardini. While enjoying an active performing career on both instruments, Amy has performed throughout Europe with ensembles such as the European Union Baroque Orchestra, New Dutch Academy, Florilegium, Arte dei Suonatori, L’Arpa Festante, Ensemble Cristofori, Le Parlement de Musique, and The Royal Wind Music. With the New Dutch Academy she has appeared as a featured soloist. In Australia, Amy has been a tutor at the ‘Steps in Time’ music festival and the Orpheus chamber summer school for early music. When visiting Australia she also performs and gives master-classes at the Early Music Studio, University of Melbourne. She is currently based in Basel, Switzerland.
Takashi Watanabe – Harpsichord/ Organ
Takashi Watanabe was born in Nagano, Japan, in 1975. He graduated from Tokyo College of Music (piano major) and also finished the postgraduate course of Tohō Gakuen School of Music (harpsichord major). He started studying harpsichord at the age of 20, and two years later he won the prize of Early Music competition in Japan. He is active in many ensembles. From 2002 he studied harpsichord with Bob van Asperen at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and in 2005 he moved to Pavia, Italy, to study historical organ with Lorenzo Ghielmi at the Scuole Civiche di Milano, graduating in 2010.
In 2004 he founded Ensemble Ricreation d’Arcadia (2 violins, violoncello and harpsichord) to explore the diverse instrumental music and vocal music of the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing particularly on the vast repertoire for the “trio sonata”. They won the first prize at “Premio Bonporti 2004 (president jury G. Leonhardt)” in Rovereto (Italy) and also received the Audience prize and the ORF recording prize. They have since been invited to many early music festivals in Italy, Austria and Slovenia, and recently recorded several CD’s to be released by ORF in 2010.
Takashi Watanabe has been a prizewinner in many competitions including third prize at the Fano Adriano International organ competition in Italy, “Cembalosonderpreis” at the 3rd International Viola da Gamba Competition Bach- Abel in Köthen, Germany, and he was a finalist in the 2nd Sweelinck competition, Amsterdam.
His performances on many historical organs include those in Norden, Dornum, Erfurt (Michaeliskirche), Grossengottern, Tangermünde and Milano (Basilica di San Simpliciano and Chiesa di Sant’Alessandro).
Takashi Watanabe is in demand in Europe as a harpsichordist and organist, both as a soloist and as a continuo player. He has played with such groups as La Venexiana and Il complesso barocco, and has performed with Rudolf Leopold, Gunar Letzbor, Enrico Gatti, Vittorio Ghielmi and Lorenzo Ghielmi.
Since 2003 Takashi Watanabe has been conductor of the “Handel Festival Japan (HFJ)” in Tokyo, performing Acis and Galatea, La Resurrezione, Hercules, Tamerlano and several Concerti grossi by G. F. Handel, which were received with great praise.
http://darcadia.blogspot.com/
Lisa Goldberg – Baroque Bassoon/ Dulcian
Lisa Goldberg is from Canberra, Australia, where she initiated her music studies in modern bassoon at the Canberra School of Music (Australian Institute of the Arts), receiving a Bachelor of Music followed by a Graduate Diploma in 1997. After discovering the baroque and classical bassoon, she took lessons with Simon Rickard who introduced her to all the fundamentals of early music performance including his in-depth knowledge of early reed making. She was soon after performing with him in the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. In 2002 she moved to the Netherlands with an Ian Potter grant to study historical bassoon with Donna Agrell at the Koninklijk Conservatory, The Hague. Since living in Europe Lisa has been playing with many renowned orchestras and ensembles including Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Anima Eterna, Collegium Vocale, Concerto Copenhagen, Les Musiciens Du Louvre, Nederlandse Bach Vereniging, Gabrieli Consort, B’Rock and the New Dutch Academy, and continues to perform with Pinchgut Opera in Sydney, Australia. She is now regularly playing on dulcian, baroque, classical and romantic bassoons, covering a wide range of repertoire and styles. Lisa is currently based in Ghent, Belgium.
Tobias Guttmann – Percussion
Tobias was born in 1978 in Hallein/Salzburg (Austria). At the age of seven he started playing percussion. Between 1988 and 1993 he studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and following this he studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Peter Prommel, Marinus Komst, Jan Pustjens and Viktor Oskam. He received his Masters degree with full marks in 2006. As a student Tobias took master classes with Christopher Lamb, Keiko Abe and Evelyn Glennie. He has performed in Cagliari (Spazionusica) and Llubljana (ISCM World Music Days) with the Ensemble for New Music. He has played with the Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century with such conductors as Simon Rattle, Peter Eötvös, Frans Brüggen, Thierry Fischer and Etienne Siebens. As a soloist he performed at the AMP Percussion Festival in Amsterdam, and won the second prize at the EMCY Percussion Competition Gradus ad Parnassum in Linz in 2003.