Helen Roberts

Cornettist Helen Roberts began her journey in early music at the University of Birmingham reading musicology with Dr Mary O'Niell. A growing interest in performance took her to the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland, where she studied cornetto with Bruce Dickey. Helen now enjoys a busy performing career as a cornettist, specialising in the little-know repertoire and performance practice of the cornettino. Helen lives and teaches in Somerset.

Caroline Ritchie

Caroline Ritchie read music at Oxford University and studied baroque cello and viols at London's Royal Academy of Music, before a passion for the music of the Renaissance and early Baroque lead her to continue her studies at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland. While in Basel, she pursued research into the virtuoso solo music for viola bastarda, generously supported by a studentship from the Leverhulme trust, and widened her repertoire to include medival fiddle, Renaissance viols, and violone. In addition to a busy performance career, she is an experienced editor and researcher, with editions published by Bärenreiter. Caroline teaches consort playing at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

David Yacus

Originally from the island of Nantucket (Massachusetts, USA), David Yacus now resides in Berlin. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston, USA). While pursuing graduate studies at the Juilliard School, he was selected by Zubin Mehta for a position with the orchestra of the Maggio Musicale in Florence, Italy. With the Florence orchestra he performed and recorded with many of today’s leading artists, including Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini and Riccardo Muti. During his tenure in Florence he continued cultivating an interest in the music and instruments of the 16th and 17th centuries, later broadening his horizons to medieval, classical, and ethnic traditions. In 1994 he left the orchestra to dedicate himself full-time to research and historically-informed performance of music from various stylistic periods. He has collaborated with leading Early Music ensembles: Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, Concerto Italiano, Concerto Palatino, Freiburger Barockorchester, Ensemble La Fenice, Les Haulz et Les Bas, La Pifarescha. He has served as faculty member of the Conservatorio ‘Giacomo Puccini’ in La Spezia (Italy) and the Furman University ‘Music in Italy’ program and has taught masterclasses in historical performance practice at Oxford University, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basel, Switzerland), the Conservatorio ‘Guido Cantelli’ of Novara (Italy), and the Escuela Superior de Musica (Mexico City). He has participated in live and pre-recorded radio and television broadcasts throughout Europe, the U.S., and Japan, and has collaborated on numerous critically acclaimed recordings.

Joëlle Morton

Joëlle Morton is a widely sought-after performer and teacher, specializing in a variety of period instruments, including Renaissance and Baroque violas da gamba, violoni and double basses. Active primarily as a soloist and chamber musician, Joëlle directs the Scaramella period instrument chamber music series in Toronto, teaches viol at the University of Toronto and is curator for the collection of antique viols at Hart House. She is the author of a number of scholarly articles and editions of music for lyra viol, viola bastarda and Viennese bass and her personal website (www.greatbassviol.com) serves as an important international resource to those interested in researching large bowed bass instruments.

Guillermo Turina Serrano

Guillermo Turina was born in Madrid in 1986. He holds a bachelor's degree in modern violoncello from CSMA Zaragoza and in historical performance from ESMUC Barcelona, where he studied with Bruno Cocset and Emmanuel Balssa. He also holds a masters degree in musicology from the university of Barcelona. His interest in historical performance practice led him to join the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique in Saintes, France, where he studied classical and romantic repertoire under the guidance of cellists Hilary Metzger and Christophe Coin. Guillermo has been principal cellist of orchestras including JONDE (Spanish Youth Orchestra) and NJO (Dutch Youth Orchestra), EUBO (European Union Baroque Orchestra) and is a founding member of Academia de las Luces. He also performs throughout Spain and Europe as soloist and with several groups including La Tempestad, Paperkite and the Atrium Ensemble.

Justin Bland

Applauded for his “gleaming trumpet work” (Hyde Park Herald) and “dazzling virtuosity” (Grunion Gazette), the American trumpeter Justin Bland is a versatile musician, performing on both historical and modern trumpets. He specializes in early music, most notably in difficult highregister music for Baroque trumpet. Dr. Bland has performed with several leading early music ensembles throughout North America including American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Washington Bach Consort, Tempesta di Mare, Musica Angelica, Scaramella, Bach Collegium San Diego, Lyra Baroque Orchestra, and many more.

Now living in Denmark, Justin continues to perform as both a soloist and ensemble musician, combining ongoing North American engagements with new collaborations with leading Baroque ensembles in Denmark as well as in the rest of Scandinavia and Europe. In Europe he has played with Camerata Øresund, Copenhagen Soloists, Barokksolistene, Arte dei Suonatori, Höör Barock, Enghave Barok, the Næstved Early Music Festival, and several others.

In addition to trumpet playing, Justin is also a countertenor and has sung with Apollo’s Fire and Opera Cleveland. While in Ohio working on his Master’s degree, he was an alto section leader in the chamber and chancel choirs at Trinity Cathedral in downtown Cleveland and was the countertenor with Cantores Cleveland (now Contrapunctus). Justin also plays recorder.

Justin earned his DMA in trumpet performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received his MA in early music performance practices from Case Western and his BM in trumpet performance from the University of Maryland. For more information about Dr. Bland, visit his personal website (justinblandtrumpet.com).