Bridget Cunningham is a harpsichordist, conductor and early music specialist who’s playing and research has been broadcast extensively. Bridget's performing experience includes working with the Broschi Ensemble, Choral scholars of St Martin in the Fields, New Renaissance Voices, London Handel Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, English Touring Opera, Oxford Girls Choir, Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Schola Pieta Antonio Vivaldi who she assists conducting.  She recently performed a solo harpsichord recital to Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.

Her research, presentations and performances have been featured on ITV, Sky Arts, RTE, RTP 2 and BBC TV and Radio including Woman's Hour, Front Row, In Tune, Night Watch and Go 4 It. She was recently supported by the Worshipful Company of Musicians as a Junior Fellow of the Royal College of Music and won a Finzi research scholarship to study early Irish Music which led on to her recording her album 'Ireland's Enchantment'.  She has recorded BBC documentaries with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment and Vivaldi's Women also was recorded - the virginal and harpsichord music for the BBC 1 series 'Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen', How London Was Built and also directed the music for BBC's Messiah. 

Philip Yeeles started life as a successful performer on the modern violin and, as a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for 15 years,  played all over the world with such maestri as Dorati, Kondrashin, Temirkanov, Masur, Solti and Barenboim.  In 1994 he became interested in historical performing practice, studying baroque violin with Richard Gwilt and attending master classes with Enrico Onofri.  Since 2003 he has performed exclusively on original instruments of all periods playing with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Hanover Band, Armonico Consort, Sweelinck Ensemble, The Orchestra of the Sixteen, Saraband, Fiori Musicali, Divino Sospiro, capella vitalis berlin and  Broschi Ensemble amongst many others.   He has performed the complete Bach sonatas with harpsichord both in London and Portugal.  For baroque music Philip plays a Giovanni Grancino violin of 1698.

Nick Jackman is a general practitioner in Kew. Music has always been an essential ingredient of life, whether singing in choirs, making chamber music at home or playing in orchestras.  The modern flute was discarded some years ago in favour of the delicate sounds of the wooden transverse flute and he was fortunate to be able to study first with Lisa Besnoziuk and then with Steven Preston at the Guildhall School of Music.  He is playing on a copy of a Dutch flute from around 1735 by William Beukers who lived in Amsterdam.

Geraldine Newman is an English theatre and television actress who has acted in more than 30 television programs and films over 40 years.  She is perhaps best known for her role as Hilda Hughes in the 1980s BBC TV series, Ever Decreasing Circles.  Most recently she has appeared in Arsenic & Old Lace at the Derby Playhouse and has also been recorded for the BBC radio 7’s Phantom of the Opera.  She features in two recent Doctor Who “Audio Adventure” CDs recordings.  Geraldine is also an accomplished artist and regularly exhibits her paintings.

Dino Mahoney is an award winning playwright whose plays have been performed in London and Asia and have been broadcast internationally, as well as on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. His most recent play is part of the Urban Scrawl project and can be heard online at Theatre Voice. His play, ‘Yo Yo,’ is published by Oberon Press. Dino has acted in both English and Cantonese on stage in Hong Kong and London. He is a well known voice on Hong Kong radio where his drama programme, ‘Songbirds,’ was broadcast twice weekly for a whole decade.

James Akers studied the lute at the Royal College of Music with Jakob Lindberg and at Trinity College of Music with Jacob Heringman and David Miller, with additional lessons from Paul O’Dette.  Since graduating he has performed internationally with many leading ensembles and soloists including Fretwork, The Parley of Instruments, the Scottish and Irish Chamber Orchestras, The King’s Consort, The Hanover Band, Emma Kirkby and Michael Chance and has broadcast for BBC Radio 3, BBC 1, BBC News 24, France Musique and RTE Lyric (Ireland).  A review in The Independent described him as ‘a superb player.’

Michael Mullen studied music at the University of Bristol where he gained a B.Mus and M.A. Mus in composition. More recently he was awarded the DMus in composition from the Royal College of Music. As a performer with a keen interest in renaissance and baroque music Michael has taken part in numerous London concerts playing the viola da gamba, baroque violin and the violoncello piccolo.

Lynn Selwood, cello Lynn completed her first degree in music at McGill University, studying performance, audio engineering and early music. She came to London in 2000 to complete a Master of Performance at the Guildhall after working professionally as a freelance chamber, orchestral and session musician in Montreal for several years. She continues to combine her musical career in England performing, coaching and teaching in both the ‘early music’ and ‘modern’ worlds, and is in high demand as a continuo player, section leader, chamber musician, ensemble coach and soloist. She has recently performed Vivaldi, Leo and Boismortier Cello concertos with orchestra and featured as continuo soloist at Wigmore Hall with The Musical Compass on a number of occasions.

Of a performance of Dido & Aeneas at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House, The Times wrote: “Lynn Selwood’s ‘cello sang out finger-perfect, always eloquent.” 

Katalin Ertsey was born in Debrecen, Hungary. She graduated from the Royal College of Music, London, where she studied with Jakob Lindberg, gaining her Master of Music degree in Advanced Performance on the renaissance lute and theorbo. Katalin also holds the Master of Science degree from the University of Debrecen, specializing in Hydrobiology.  At the age of seven, Katalin began taking guitar lessons and soon became interested in early music. At the age of twelve, she started studying the lute under the tuition of Adam Balint and continued privately with Istvan Konya.  Katalin regularly appears as a soloist, accompanist and continuo player in concerts throughout the UK and mainland Europe. Most recent engagements include Handel’s La Resurrezione for the Handel Festival in London; Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea for the RCM International Opera School; participation on the London City Showcase Festival; a lute song recital for the Young Performers Concert Series, and Michael Chance’s lute song masterclass at the RCM.  Katalin has collaborated with Shakespeare’s Globe and appeared on ITV1 in one of the parts of Inspector Lewis series. She gives regular lute recitals in venues such as Victoria and Albert Museum, British Library and National Gallery, London. Together with the Swedish soprano Eva Karell, Katalin is the first prizewinner of the 2007 Early Music competition at the RCM.

John Sutherland began studying violin when he was about 10 and went on to study with Sam and Dorothy Bor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. He then discovered the viola while at Stirling University, where he took a BA in Hispanic Studies and an MLitt in Latin American literature. After completing his studies, he moved to London in 1988. He studied viola at London's Guildhall School of Music with Gerhard Schmidt, gaining an LRSM diploma in viola performance in 1999. He studied baroque and classical viola with Katherine McGillivray and viola da gamba with Alison Crum. He plays regularly with Linden Baroque Orchestra.

Nicola Jackman was born in New Zealand. After completing her BMus at Victoria University, Wellington she came to Europe to study baroque violin & viola initially with Catherine Mackintosh and then in Italy with Enrico Gatti. She played with the European Baroque Orchestra under Ton Koopman and Roy Goodman and subsequently with period instrument orchestras in Italy, Germany and France where she played in Les Arts Florissant. She combines a busy career teaching violin & viola with performing.

German-born violinist Yvonne Schwartz started playing the violin at the age of six. Since then she appeared as leader with various youth orchestras in Germany. Yvonne loves chamber music, especially quartets, and won the first prize of a well known nation wide youth competition in 2000 and 2001. In 2000 she also discovered her interest in baroque music and studied with Friedemann Neef. After moving to London in 2006 she regularly plays with Kensington Chamber Orchestra and Belsize Baroque Orchestra (on period instruments).

Xenia Maria Mann began her vocal studies with Scipio Colombo in Karlsruhe. She received further tuition with Heather Harper, London and Giulietta Simionato, Milan. In 1994 she graduated from the Stuttgart Opera School and joined the State Opera of Lower Saxony in Hannover where her roles included Ulrica (Ballo), Mrs Quickly (Falstaff), Magdalena (Meistersinger), Erda (Rheingold), Penelope (Ulisse) a.m.o. Xenia Maria is a much sought-after Oratorio singer in Germany and across Europe. She toured Namibia and South Africa and performed many times with Reinhard Goebel (and Musica Antiqua Köln) including recordings for radio.She has been much acclaimed in Lied-Repertoire with piano and orchestra as well as for her interpretations of contemporary music. Various composers have dedicated works to her, some of which she has recorded for CD. She has been a guest at the State Opera in Braunschweig, the State Opera of Nuremberg, a.o. In 2007 she sang in the World Premiere of Edward Rushton’s "The Pious Gemima" and in 2007/09 in a Barrie Kosky production of Benjamin Britten’s "Peter Grimes" at the State Opera in Hannover.

Ben Sansom completed an MA Degree in Architecture at the Royal College of Art before crossing Kensington Gore to study Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music with Catherine Mackintosh and Andrew Manze.  Since then his playing has taken him all over the world (Australia, Canada, Venezuela) with many of the leading period-instrument orchestras (Gabrieli Players, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Sonnerie) and exciting new chamber groups (Apollo & Pan, Arte Resoluta, Denner Ensemble).  Ben has broadcast as a soloist on BBC Radio 3 and France Musique, and plays a violin of 1710, made in the very heart of Paris – within a stone's throw of the Palais du Louvre – by one of the top luthiers of 18th-century France, Jacques Bocquay. A small renaissance violin, and a big baroque viola often vie for his attention too!

Alexandria Lawrence likes to think she is a modern-day renaissance woman. Musician, designer, illustrator, writer, software developer, budding filmmaker and digital marketer – she is creating her own niche in the world by bringing together her passions in an uncompromising yet enterprising package. Alexandria’s formal training is primarily in music, having specialised in early music at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and viola performance at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in the States. Combining music and theatre lies at the heart of her performance-related interests – taking part in a rollicking 68 performances of The Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare’s Globe (2012) being a definite career highlight. The Hapless Rehearsal is Alexandria’s first published title. She draws back the curtain and provides a humorous insight into the world of classical music; the trials and tribulations of a chamber orchestra, playfully depicted in illustrated verse. Available on: peawitpress.uk

Barbara Grant is a professional musician whose performing background encompasses both folk and classical music with a special interest in early music and baroque violin techniques. She plays with Linden Baroque Orchestra on a regular basis, plus other trios and small chamber groups as part of freelance work.

As a vocalist and string player she has performed on radio, television and entertainment work at various venues including restaurants, stately homes, civic theatres, foyers, concert halls etc. She is currently part of a duo ‘Projections of Paradise’ which combines slides music and poetry.

As an Educationalist she teaches for Richmond Music Trust and Wandsworth Music Service for whom she is currently Head of Strings.

Chris Lamb studied Computer Science at the University of Warwick and is now a programmer at a startup company in Shoreditch. Born into a musical family, Chris has been playing chamber music since he was four years old. As a teenager he attended Pro Corda, the National School for Young Chamber Music for many years and was coached by Ioan Davies and the Wihan Quartet. After discovering historical performance practice he has learnt to keep two sets of books; one deeply immersed in performing continuo in baroque chamber music and oratorios whilst the other documents an active role in modern cello fare such as orchestras, chamber music and solo concerti. For the past three years, Chris has also enjoyed playing the viola da gamba and has had participated in masterclasses with Christophe Coin, Reiko Ichise, Alison Crum and Richard Boothby. Chris plays in a regular string quartet with his father in Blackfriars.

Vincent Tumosas began his musical career as a French horn and double bass player but contact with music of earlier times soon led to a change of direction and he now plays baroque flute, oboe and recorder. As a freelance musician he has been a guest performer with many of the leading early music ensembles as well as directing others which he has founded.  A busy and diverse schedule has included recitals for radio and television, playing for theatre and dance productions, as well as on film soundtracks. He has also undertaken some orchestral conducting.  For a number of years he was music director to the Young National Trust Theatre and has also helped prepare editions of early French operas for performance. An area of special interest is the study and playing of Piobaireachd on the Highland Bagpipe. 

Peter Tsoulos combines a career as a Software Engineer with an active life as an oboist specialising in early music. While studying electrical engineering, and continuing tuition in oboe and conducting, he founded the Music Society of the University of Technology, Sydney, establishing a choir and orchestra and becoming the choir’s musical director in 2001 until 2004. On moving to the UK, he commenced studies in baroque and classical oboes with Belinda Paul and has performed with orchestras including Linden Baroque, Leeds Baroque and Essex Baroque. In addition to the baroque and classical instruments Peter continues to play modern oboe, specialising in baroque repertoire and also sings with the chamber choir Helios.

Until October 2007, John Marston was in General medical practice in Barnstaple, Devon, but has always been interested in music since he can remember.

It was at school that he first encountered and started playing the harpsichord, having played the piano since the age of 5yrs.

He sang alto in the school choir, and later with the Elizabethan Singers under the direction of Louis Halsey when, tutored by Alfred Deller, he gained a Choral Scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1966. He has directed a local chamber choir, the Artavian Singers, for thirty years and is a recent co-director of Barnstaple Community Choir.

He has played the harpsichord ever since school, and now has two harpsichords and a Viennese fortepiano, as well as a small chamber organ. He and many musical friends have, over the past twenty years, performed Baroque and Classical music as Artavian Baroque, and they have, over the years, raised many thousands of pounds for local charities as a result.

Richard Austen is a London based flautist who also plays recorder and specialises in historical flutes. He regularly performs with the Ashford Baroque Ensemble, The Whitehall Orchestra, Belsize Baroque Orchestra and is a member of The Alvirini Quartet. He is a pioneer in videos of baroque flute playing which can be found on the internet’s very own “YouTube”.

Miguel Calvo, from Pamplona in Northern Spain, studied cello baroque cello with Alison McGillivray at the Guildhall school of music and drama in London. In addition he has participated in master classes with Jenny Ward-Clarke and Susan Sheppard and received his master’s degree in 2003.

Miguel is now much in demand on the London early music scene working in chamber groups and teaching in addition to performing regularly in Spain.

Fiona Huggett came from Canada to play with various highly respected baroque orchestras in London such as The English Consort and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. She also teaches the violin at the St Paul’s and Harrodian Schools and is involved with the Barnes Music Society.