Josie Ryan, soprano
Josie Ryan
After graduating from Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the soprano Josie Ryan completed her Masters degree specializing in Early Vocal Music and Historical Performance Practice at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, with the aid of a grant from the Dutch Government. She has performed as an ensemble singer with various leading groups across Europe, including The Tallis Scholars, The Amsterdam Baroque Choir and Collegium Vocale Gent. Josie has a broad oratorio and concert solo repertoire ranging from the early Renaissance to the late Classical period, and has enjoys a busy concert schedule. Her operatic roles include Rameau’s Les fetes d’Hebe (Iphise), Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Ninfa) and Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione di Anima e di Corpo (Anima beata). During her 12 years in Europe Josie sang regularly with Pinchgut Opera during annual visits to Sydney, and now lives here once again since November 2009. Josie has recorded numerous CDs and DVDs including the role of Liebe in Schmelzer’s sepolcro “Stärke der Lieb”, and Monteverdi’s 5th and 6th books of Madrigals. In addition to performing regularly with The Emerald City Viols, Josie is frequently engaged as a soloist for other ensembles including Australian Baroque Brass, The Choir of Christ Church St Laurence, Coro Innominata, The Oriana Chorale, and The Marais Project.
Brooke Green
BROOKE GREEN, TREBLE, TENOR VIOL, DIRECTOR
Brooke Green graduated with a Masters in Early Music Performance from the Early Music Institute, Bloomington, Indiana University, where she studied viol and vielle with Wendy Gillespie. Previously, as a baroque violinist, Brooke spent several years in London, performing with ensembles such as The Hanover Band, The Brandenburg Consort, The London Handel Orchestra, Midsummer Opera and The City of London Chamber Players. In Australia, Brooke has performed as a soloist with The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, led various baroque ensembles and played in others led by Fiona Ziegler. From 1993 as director of Backgammon, Brooke directed many innovative programs of music on period instruments, in London, Sydney, Tasmania and Honolulu. For the Viola da Gamba Society of America, Brooke has given a recital of 17th century music for solo treble viol and directed a program of Australian contemporary music for viol consort. On vielle, Brooke has toured with the US-based Ensemble Lipzodes and directed multi-media, theatrical productions including Machaut’s Le Remede de Fortune, Queer Medieval Tales and O Fortuna for MONA FOMA, 2010. In 2012 Brooke was Musical Director of the Australian Viola da Gamba Society’s Easter Viol School.
Fiona Ziegler
Fiona Ziegler, tenor viol
Fiona Ziegler has been an Assistant Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony since 1995 and plays on her mother’s two-hundred-and-fifty year-old Testore violin. As one of Sydney’s leading baroque violinists, Fiona has performed with Ensemble de la Reine, the Marais Project and regularly with her own baroque trio, Concertato. She was a founding member of The Australian Fortepiano Trio and Trio Pollastri, and has made regular performances with the Renaissance Players, Sydney Chamber Choir, Coro Innominata, the Sydney Soloists and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. Fiona is also a founding member of the Gagliano String Quartet. She was a member of the Sydney String Quartet for four years, is now a member of the recently formed Chanterelle String Quartet, and has led the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra since 1992. Since 2006 Fiona has been a regular guest of the acclaimed Grevillea Ensemble, performing exciting and challenging programmes with her friends Wendy Dixon and David Miller. In 2005 Fiona took up the mandolin and became a member of the Sydney Mandolin Orchestra and the Antipodean Mandolin Ensemble.
Laura Moore, tenor and bass viol
Laura Moore completed her Bachelor of Music Performance at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2010 under the direction of Josephine Vains. During this time she participated in various master classes with Jordi Savall, Jamie Hey and Stanley Richie. In 2011, Laura was selected to participate in the Ironwood Developing Artists Program where she performed works from the 17th and 18th Centuries on period instruments. Laura is also a passionate teacher and values the importance of musical education, particularly in rural areas
Margo Adelson, bass viol
Sydney University Music (Hons) graduate, Margo Adelson, has had many years of experience as a singer, keyboard player (piano, organ and harpsichord) and viola da gambist. On viol she has performed with Sydney Chamber Orchestra, Sounds Baroque, Early Dance Consort, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Jacaranda Consort, Arafura Ensemble (Darwin) and Fleur de Lys. She currently teaches piano and musicianship at MLC Burwood, as well as at her home studio, and conducts the Glenbrook Community Singers.
Catherine Upex, bass viol
Catherine Upex studied cello with Dorothy Sumner and Georg Pedersen; and viola da gamba with Jennifer Eriksson and completed her BMus hons at Sydney Uni in 1997. She has performed in various ensembles including The Renaissance Players, the Conservatorium Baroque Orchestra, Salút, The Sydney Consort, Lautetia, La Folia, Zarabanda, Backgammon, Thoroughbass and The Opera Project. Catherine has also made several chamber music recordings for 2MBS FM and ABC Classic FM. Since 2000, Catherine has performed on viola da gamba regularly in a series of concerts with The Marais Project. The group has recorded two CDs, “Viol Dreaming” (2007) and “Love Reconciled” (2009).
Guest artists
Mary Springfels
Mary Springfels
Mary Springfels remembers hearing New York Pro Musica perform early music for the first time when she was 14 years old. She immediately fell in love with it and began learning early music instruments in college. For most of her adult life, Mary Springfels has devoted herself to the performance and teaching of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music. She earned her stripes performing with many influential pioneering ensembles and individuals including the New York Pro Musica, the Elizabethan Enterprise, Concert Royal, the Waverly Consort, Sequentia, the Folger Consort, Marion Verbruggen, and Monica Huggett. For 20 years she directed the innovative Newberry Consort, and can be heard on dozens of recordings. She has taught and performed in summer festivals throughout the US, among them the San Francisco, Madison, and Amherst Early Music Festivals, the Texas Toot, the annual Conclaves of the Viola da Gamba Society of America, and the Pinewoods Early Music Week. In 2007, she was given the Howard Mayer Brown award for an outstanding career by Early Music America. In that year, Mary moved to New Mexico. She performs locally as a guest with the Albuquerque Baroque Players, the Santa Fe Pro Musica, and Serenata.
Elizabeth Rumsey, bass viol
Elizabeth Rumsey began her musical studies at the Sydney Conservatorium, and after a Bachelor degree and Postgraduate Diploma on recorder with Howard Oberg, moved to Europe for further study on recorder and early bowed string instruments. She studied with Randall Cook (Fiddle) and Rebeka Ruso (Viola da gamba) at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, with a focus on Medieval music, and in 2005 graduated with honours in Medieval Fiddle. Her main repertoire is music of the 15th and 16th centuries, with brief forays into the modern world of Telemann trios and Bach Passions. In addition to working with her own viol consort, she plays regularly with small and large ensembles based in and around Switzerland (Chant 1450, Profeti della Quinta, The Earle his Viols, La Morra, Leones, Ensemble Daedalus among others), and has made many CD, television and radio recordings.
Laura Vaughan, treble, tenor, bass viol
Following her return from studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in 2004 with Wieland Kuijken, Anneke Pols and Philippe Pierlot, Laura Vaughan has established an active performing career. She is also one of the few exponents of the rare lirone. Laura records regularly for ABC Classic FM and has collaborated on numerous CD recordings for the ABC Classics label and Vexations. Appearing regularly with many ensembles around Australia including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, La Compañia, Pinchgut Opera, Ironwood, Astra, Adelaide Baroque, Song Company, Opera Australia, Laura is also a founding member of the dynamic baroque trio Latitude 37.
Rebecca Humphrey
Rebecca Humphrey has been residing in Melbourne since 2009 where she is a founding member of Pleiades and performs with Consort Eclectus and the Australian Chamber Choir. Previously, in Philadelphia, USA, she was a core member of Tempesta Di Mare, and a founding member of Belladonna Baroque Quartet, Aurelio and The Merion Trio. She spent much of her time playing in Washington DC with the Washington Bach Consort; in Baltimore with the Handel Singers of Baltimore, and in New York City with Rebel and Quicksilver while touring internationally with Belladonna. For three years she lived in Switzerland, where she was the principal cellist for Kammerensemble Luzerne and in Basel with Capriccio Basel. Her recordings with Tempesta di Mare on the Chandos Label have received wide acclaim, and the group has toured extensively performing their CD, Handel’s “Flaming Rose”, featuring soprano Julianne Baird.
Anthea Cottee, bass viol
Anthea Cottee is a busy performer on a variety of instruments from modern and baroque cello to viola da gamba, basse de violon and also the 14-stringed lirone. She enjoys the challenges of exploring the different bass instruments and the changes of nuance and colour which they bring to the music. Anthea has appeared as a soloist on both baroque cello and gamba for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, where she has been a regular member since she returned from her studies in London. She played with Les Talens Lyrique for their 1998 performances in Australia, has played with onstage bands for Opera Australia and in March, 2011 was continuo cellist for Handel’s Partenope. She also plays and records with many groups including Pinchgut Opera, Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra of the Antipodes, Salut! Baroque and the Huntington Baroque Ensemble.
